


You'll be a Hero 2

by Swirlycinnablast



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swirlycinnablast/pseuds/Swirlycinnablast
Summary: Now I realize I could've put this book into the first one ("You'll be a Hero Too"). But I already made two separate books on Wattpad so OH WELL!Anyways, this is basically a part 2 to "You'll be a Hero Too."
Relationships: Badgerclops/Mao Mao Mao
Comments: 185
Kudos: 20





	1. Realization

_**Third Person POV:** _

Badgerclops was chilling on the couch, playing video games. Adorabat was in the kitchen painting since nobody wanted paint splattered everywhere in the living room. Mao Mao was training in the dojo. Just another normal day in the HQ for our three heroes. Actually, it's a normal day for our _two_ heroes.

Badgerclops was having those feelings again.

About Mao Mao. 

He thought about all those times where Mao Mao needed comfort and he laid on his floofy stomach. He thought again about that one time where Mao fell asleep, leaned on him, and hugged the side of his stomach. Those were just some of the moments Badgerclops thought about that made him hot, red, and even more fuzzy than he already was. He still didn't know why it made him feel that way! He couldn't put his claw on it.

Unfortunately, since his thinking got him distracted, Badgerclops lost the level of the game he was playing. He groaned in frustration and set the controller down next to him. He rested his elbows on the table in front of him and put his head in his hands. Badgerclops's face was turning beet red and he didn't like it at all. He wanted to stop having these feelings! It was driving him NUTS! 

Suddenly, Badgerclops heard a clang coming from the dojo. He popped his head up from his hands and looked to the direction where the dojo was. That sounded like Mao Mao's katana! What if he got hurt really badly?! What if he's been training too much and he passed out from exhaustion?! All these new thoughts were going through Badgerclops's head as he ran to the dojo.

"Mao Mao?! Are you okay dude?! What happened?!" Badgerclops yelled as he jerked his head frantically back and forth, trying to find his best friend. He felt a gentle hand touch his furry arm.

"Badgerclops? I'm right here. I'm fine," Mao Mao assured him. Badgerclops looked in front of him to see Mao Mao holding his arm to let him know he was standing inches away from him. 

"But . . . I heard your sword- uh katana drop to the floor."

"'Cause I accidentally dropped it while I was hitting a cardboard thing. What are you so worried about?" Mao Mao let go of his arm. Badgerclops sighed in relief.

"I was worried about something happening to you ya know? I thought you were seriously hurt or you were training in the dojo for too long and you passed out," he explained. Mao Mao rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with his katana in one hand.

"The second thing you said only happened once alright? It won't happen again." Adorabat came zooming to the dojo.

"Are you guys okay?! I heard a girl screaming!" she exclaimed. Mao Mao laughed and Badgerclops glared at both of them.

"I do NOT have a girl voice!" he huffed. Adorabat blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh! Sorry I didn't know that was you Badgerclops!"

"It's fine." 

"Adorabat," Mao Mao instructed her, "Can you go back to painting or something? I need to discuss something with Badgerclops." 

She whispered, "Oh okay! Your secret conversation shall not be heard of!" She flew back inside. Mao smiled at her statement and sheathed his katana.

"So Mao Mao," Badgerclops asked, "what did you wanna talk about...?" Mao Mao told him to sit on the floor and they sat down in a criss-cross position. 

"I want to talk about how you've been acting for the past month." Badgerclops started to sweat. "Aside from your usual attitude, I noticed that your face always looks red when I go in the same room that you're in."

"W-well that's because it's always _roasting_ hot in the house!" Badgerclops lied. Mao Mao raised an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you turn on the AC or something?"

"Well . . . uh -"

"Badgerclops! Tell me what's wrong with you this instant!" Mao Mao demanded. Badgerclops started blushing again. It wasn't possibly that he was . . . _was_ he . . . .

"Mao Mao I think - I think I'm . . . ." he faltered, not wanting to say the words.

"You're what?" Mao urged him.

"I think I'm gay," Badgerclops murmured.

"Say that again?"

"I THINK I'M GAY MAO MAO MAO!" he admitted. Mao Mao's eyes widened a little. "And I think I like you!" Mao Mao's eyes widened fully. He had the faintest blush on his cheeks.

"Uh . . . wow," Mao Mao perplexed as he stood up and pulled his cape around himself. "Badgerclops can you give me time to think about this?" His words came out slow and sort of whisper-like.

"Okay. I get it man," Badgerclops mumbled. Mao Mao walked to the bedroom, leaving Badgerclops sitting on the warm, wooden floor of the dojo.

Mao Mao sat down in his bottom bunk and sighed, scratching the side of his left ear. He recalled the time that Tanya Keys kissed him on the cheek. He wondered if he actually approved that. He wondered if he liked her enough that he would've kissed her on the cheek as well. Would Tanya be okay with Mao Mao's decision?

They did have to go their separate ways after all. Plus, she was a bounty hunter and Mao disagreed with her job. After all of his thinking, he decided that Tanya Keys wasn't the right person for him.

_Badgerclops_ was.

He's Mao Mao's bestest friend in the whole universe! He was always there when Mao Mao needed him the most. Okay, so _maybe_ Badgerclops raided the bakery once. _Maybe_ he lied to Mao Mao saying he was gonna apologize for the raiding, but he snuck a blueberry pie out. _Maybe_ he punched Mao in the face for unplugging his video game.

But through all that, Badgerclops apologized. And Mao Mao forgave him.

"I never I'd say this, but . . . I like him too," Mao Mao proclaimed out loud. He slowly stood up from his bed, his heart beating out of his chest. He walked nervously back to the dojo. Badgerclops was still sitting on the floor, but jumped when he heard Mao's footsteps creaking on the floorboards. The sky was a mixture of elegant colors: Orange, yellow, purple, and pink. Mao knelt down on both knees in front of him.

"So, Mao Mao, what do you thi-" Badgerclops was interrupted by the small cat who gave him a tight hug above his shoulders.

"I l-love you dude," Mao Mao professed. Badgerclops's yellow eye sparkled and he hugged him back.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," he beamed. They broke the hug, but Mao Mao had his arms around Badgerclops's neck. Badgerclops reached to rub Mao's ears, but he smacked his claws away.

"Yeah you're not doing that," Mao Mao chided.

Badgerclops sang, "I'll find a way!" Mao leaned closer and closer until their lips met. They both closed their eyes. Badgerclops wrapped his arms around his back, enjoying the moment. The two passionately kissed until they separated ten seconds later. Their cheeks were blushing a popping red.

They rested their heads against one another's for awhile and stood up. 

"Do you wanna tell Adorabat?" Mao Mao asked Badgerclops.

"Nah, I'm too scared. You tell her!"

"No you tell her!" 

"Nuh uh you!" They kept bickering until Mao Mao irritatingly agreed to tell Adorabat. They went inside the HQ, hand in hand.

This'll be a fun adventure for both of them.


	2. Just a Normal Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao spends a day with his new fluffy boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay.  
> I'm gonna post one one-shot every day until the Wattpad and Archive version of this book is up to date. I can't believe I'm doing this because of one comment...I could've done this WAY earlier. But I think other people wanted me to update too.
> 
> Keep in mind there might be some mistakes in these old chapters. Not sure, but just a heads up.

_**Third Person POV:** _

Mao Mao woke up from his botton bunk. He sat up, yawned, and stretched his small body. He stood out of bed and looked at Badgerclops and Adorabat who were peacefully sleeping. He smiled at the sight.

Time for another day with his new boyfriend and his little deputy.

Mao Mao whistled loudly and heard a groan from the two of his deputies.

"Come on dude," Badgerclops grumbled, "it's too early for that!"

"Too bad. Rise and shine my fellow deputies!"

"Okay okay," Adorabat replied groggily. The two got out of their beds and Adorabat perched on Badgerclops's soft shoulder. Badgerclops kissed the top of Mao Mao's forehead. Mao blushed and gazed up at him.

"Eh, I can't stay mad at you, even if you DO wake me up from my slumber," Badgerclops smiled. Mao Mao chuckled and kissed the back of his furry hand. "What was that for?"

"It's one of many manly ways to kiss someone of course!" Mao Mao bragged.

"Pfft, that's _so_ manly. Just kidding, that's adorable!" Mao glared at him.

"It is not adorable Badgerclops!" he seethed.

"I think you're both adorable!" Adorabat chirped. Mao Mao and Badgerclops grinned at the blue bat, remembering that they told her the big news.

When the afternoon came around, Mao Mao and Badgerclops decided to spend the rest of the day together while Adorabat was playing outside with the other Sweetiepies. They started watching TV while snuggling each other. Badgerclops had his furry arm around Mao Mao. Mao Mao thought it was embarrassing, but he wanted to try new things for once. He nuzzled his head into Badgerclops's fur and the warmth enveloped him. He actually fell asleep not long after.

Badgerclops looked down at Mao Mao sleeping and grinned. He didn't wanna wake him up, but he had to if they wanted to do things the whole day! He shook Mao Mao with the arm that was wrapped around him. Mao's eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry Mao Mao, but we gotta keep going with our day," Badgerclops reminded him softly.

"Mhm . . . okay," he answered wearily. They went on the aerocycle and drove to a familiar scenery. It was the giant cherry blossom tree that they all had their picnic at! Mao Mao never thought it would be used for romantic—no that's not the right word— _pleasant_ reasons. They parked the aerocycle next to the tree.

They lie down next to each other under the tree, watching the petals flow above them.

"Hey Mao Mao?" Badgerclops started.

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever think we'd be doing this?" Mao Mao snickered.

"Nope. Not at all," he admitted as he put his arms behind his head.

"Same here. I just never thought I would've said anything."

"Well be glad you did." The two sat in silence for awhile. Mao Mao had his eyes closed for that whole time when he felt something on his nose. He opened his eyes to see a petal on it. He blew it away and Badgerclops laughed. Mao Mao narrowed his slit eyes at him.

"I put that petal on your face!" Badgerclops chortled.

"Don't even _think_ about doing _that_ ever again," Mao Mao shot at him. He sat up against the ginormous tree trunk and inhaled the glorious smell.

"This is nice," Badgerclops breathed as he sat with Mao Mao. Mao Mao stood up and sat at the other side of Badgerclops.

"Move your giant arm," he demanded softly as he pushed his arm upwards to lean on his side. Badgerclops used that arm to rub his tall, furry ears. Mao Mao blushed and his eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. "S-stop it Badgerclops! It feels weird!" He immediately stopped, understanding what the feline wanted. "Thanks."

"No problem man. I know what it feels like to be uncomfortable." Mao Mao smiled at him and got an idea. He got up and hopped onto Badgerclops while his arms were around his neck. Badgerclops blushed deeply as he stared into Mao Mao's bright, green, emerald eyes. "M-Mao Mao?! What are you doing?!"

"Well I'm too short to be able to kiss you properly. That's a big problem you know?" Mao Mao flirted.

"I-I know, but you could've just—" Badgerclops was cut off by Mao Mao pressing his lips against his. He pushed forward into the kiss. He put his furry arm on Mao Mao's back while his other hand was holding his head. After they split apart, Badgerclops placed a hand on Mao Mao's cheek as they held each other. Mao Mao touched that hand with his.

"You're a great guy Badgerclops," Mao Mao cooed. "I love you."

"You too dude," Badgerclops beamed. Mao pecked him on the lips before sliding down on his white and brown fluffy stomach, nuzzling it. He felt Badgerclops's giant furry arm hug his side.

Another while later, Badgerclops glanced up at the sky. It was losing its natural color of blue already. He checked the time on his robotic arm. 4:30. Adorabat said she would be home at 5. Welp, it's time to go. Badgerclops heard quiet snoring and glanced down at Mao Mao. He chuckled quietly as he thought about what to do with him.

This time he didn't wanna wake the sleepy cat, so he carefully picked him up and cradled him in his left arm. Badgerclops headed to the aerocycle. Though the rumbles of the aerocycle may wake him up. Badgerclops sat down and gently placed Mao Mao in front of him so that he laid on his stomach. He turned on the aerocycle and felt Mao Mao shift a little.

"Thanks for driving the bike for me," Mao mumbled.

"Anytime." And so, Badgerclops drove his boyfriend home.

When Badgerclops entered HQ with a groggy Mao Mao next to him, they saw Adorabat coloring something on the table. She turned her head to them, realizing their arrival.

"Oh, you're back! You guys weren't home when I went back, so I made sure no one was sneaking in, especially the Sky Pirates!" she bubbled.

"Great job Adorabat," Mao Mao yawned as he and Badgerclops dropped on the couch.

"So . . . what did y'all do together?" Adorabat asked curiously. Badgerclops and Mao Mao told her every single thing that happened. Yep, even the kissing parts. Which she cringed at a little, but she thought it was cute as well.

"And finally, I carried Mao Mao to the aerocycle," Badgerclops finished as Mao Mao blushed a little.

"Aww that's super cool!" Adorabat exclaimed while kicking her legs up and down. "I bet you two had so much fun!"

"Totally," they both agreed in unison.

Nighttime approached fast. Adorabat was sleeping in her middle bunk while Mao Mao and Badgerclops were watching TV again in the living room. Mao Mao was lying on Badgerclops's stomach, lying on his side.

"Stop squirmin' man, it's tickling me!" Badgerclops simpered.

"Deal with it," Mao Mao teased. He yawned loudly.

"You are very sleepy today." Badgerclops patted his head.

"Am not! Heroes are never tired!"

"If that was the case, then they wouldn't get one minute of rest!"

"But they wouldn't _need_ rest! That's what I'm saying!"

"Whatever you say dude." A few minutes later, Badgerclops shut the TV off. "Wanna head to the bedroom now?" he asked.

"Hmm . . . nope. I wanna stay right here," Mao Mao purred. Badgerclops giggled and aimlessly grabbed a blanket from the closet with his robotic arm. He draped it over him and Mao Mao.

"There we go." Badgerclops hesitated for a quick second before rubbing the cat's ear a little. "Night Mao Mao."

"Mmm . . . night." Before Badgerclops drifted off, he pulled Mao Mao forward a little to kiss him on the top of his head.


	3. Vicolean's Vengance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vicolean (my Mao Mao villain OC if you don't remember from the first book) is trying to make the Sky Pirates into better villains. He makes another attempt at stealing the gem cell from the aerocycle and defeating Mao Mao. Things don't go too well....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLOOD WARNING, NOT MAJOR OR GORY BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW
> 
> You don't have to read this one since I just wanted to develop my villain OC more. There will be more one-shots like this. Also, feel free to critique on any of the one-shots. It can help out a ton.
> 
> And Vicolean will be a TINY BIT or more homophobic in a later part. I swear this is the only time he'll act like that.

"Metal? METAL?! This is what you so called Sky Pirates eat?!" Vicolean exploded as he observed the material on the plate. Vicolean visited the Sky Pirates to try and improve them. Not surprisingly, it's one of the most nicest things he ever did in his villainy experience. The Sky Pirates were sitting at the dining table while Vicolean was standing next to Orangusnake.

"We're all too lazy to get groceries you see?" Orangusnake explained. Vicolean's eye and ear twitched. Lazy was IN Orangusnake's voice! Vicolean sighed, doing a facepalm and letting the paw slide down his face.

"You all need to be more active! No wonder you're so bad at fighting the Sheriff's Department!" He said the last two words with hatred. Boss Hosstrich cleared his throat.

"Speaking of active, what's wrong with your swirly lookin' eye? It looks pretty gray," Boss Hosstrich noted. Vicolean sped over to him in a second and drew his silver sword inches away from his eyes.

"None of your business. Now PAY ATTENTION!" he hollered. He put his sword back into the pocket that was attached to Vicolean's back. "You remember everything I went over to be a better villain right?" 

They all nodded.

"Good! Now let's go attack that pathetic sheriff and his two deputies! And get the Ruby!" The Sky Pirates cheered, determined they would actually win. All of a sudden, Vicolean had a random flashback.

_"You disgraceful young cheetah! I-I shouldn't even call you a cheetah at this point!" his father fumed once he got Vicolean backed up in a corner. "You almost got your younger sister killed by trying to test out your speed AGAIN!"_

_"But I thought I could go as fast as you for once father!" Vicolean quavered. His father grabbed him by the tail and jerked him up. The child yelped from the pain in his tail. He walked over to a closet and opened the door. He threw him in the cramped closet and glared at the shaken cheetah. Tears were pricking his small, fully blue eyes._

_"You'll never be as fast as any of us." That was the last thing Vicolean's father said before he slammed the closet shut and locked it. Vicolean leaned against the left wall and wrapped his arms around his legs. He put his head in his knees and cried silently._

_It was true._

_He would never be as fast as a real cheetah._

_30 minutes later, Vicolean's ears perked up to the lock clicking. The door slowly opened to reveal his 5 year-old sister._

_"Hi Vicolean. Did daddy lock you in the closet again?" she asked sadly. He sighed._

_"Yeah, he did," Vicolean whimpered as he climbed out of the cramped closet. He suddenly hugged his little sister, the tears forming in his eyes again. He felt the hug being returned. "Thank you."_

_"You're welcome big brother. Daddy's such a meanie to you. I wish he'd stop bullying you." They silently hugged each other while Vicolean sniffed every now and then. Until he said something in response to his sister._

_"M-me too."_

Vicolean's head was slightly lowered. His tears appeared from under his wooden mask, dribbling down his face and dropping off of his chin. Orangusnake put a hand on his left shoulder.

"Hey, you okay? You're crying . . . . " he lamented. Vicolean took off his mask and looked up at Orangusnake. 

"Y-yes. I'm okay," he responded shakily as he wiped his tears away. Orangusnake didn't question about the many scars on the cheetah's face. "I was just . . . thinking." Orangusnake took his hand off his shoulder.

"Alright man."

"Don't call me that," Vicolean grumbled as he put his mask back on. "I'm gonna go steal the gem cell from the sheriff's aerocycle. Wait. Here."

"You got it bro!"

"Don't call me that either! Disgusting!" Vicolean cringed. He started to zoom out, but stopped to hold his stomach in pain. 

"Vicolean," Ratarang asked, "you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just- I can't run as fast as I usually can right now." Vicolean ran at normal speed to Pure Heart Valley. 

He found that the aerocycle was parked right outside of HQ. He snickered. _That dumb sheriff left his aerocycle right in the open. Idiot._ Vicolean went over to the aerocycle and pried the lid to the gem cell open. It glowed a bright pink and he grinned evilly.

"Perfect."

The monster alarm rang and Mao Mao paused his training. "TO THE AEROCYCLE!" he announced as he ran out of the HQ with Adorabat flying behind him. The two jumped on the aerocycle and Mao Mao started the engine. Nothing happened. Badgerclops came out of the HQ just then. "Why isn't the engine working?"

"Hold on a second . . . . " Badgerclops opened the lid that was suppose to have the gem cell in it. "Ugh! Mao Mao I knew it was a bad idea to park the aerocycle outside! Why didn't you just park it in the garage?"

"Because the garage is filled with all your robot junk! Why are you asking?" Mao Mao's eyes went wide in realization. "Dang it! The Sky Pirates took the gem cell didn't they?" he seethed as he banged his fist on the handles. Badgerclops nodded. 

"Which means we have to run all the way there!" Badgerclops shouted in complaint. 

"Can't Adorabat and I climb on your back and you can blast us there?" Mao Mao suggested. Badgerclops blushed a little.

"Well uh-"

"You don't have to do any of those choices," someone said. The trio looked behind them to see Vicolean standing on the roof of HQ. "Hello Sheriff's Department. It's a pleasure to meet you again." Badgerclops's eye opened wide.

"YOU! You're the one who kicked me in the gut!" Badgerclops ranted. He turned his robotic hand into a laser shooter and shot a laser beam at Vicolean. He easily dodged it. 

"Meet you all at the village!" Vicolean sang and zoomed down to the village (despite his stomachache). Adorabat growled and grabbed Badgerclops's right shoulder.

"He's gonna destroy the town! C'mon Badgerclops, use your blast thingy to fly us down to the village!" Adorabat ordered him. Mao Mao got onto Badgerclops's back and hung his arms over his shoulders. He put his head on Badgerclops's left shoulder. He blushed again, but deeper.

"I know you feel weird because I'm on your back, correct?" Mao Mao hinted.

"Y-yeah . . . sorry about that. I'm not used to it." Mao gave him a thumbs up.

"It's alright. It's only one time. Now giddy up!" Mao Mao kicked his side.

"Okay okay! So aggressive." Badgerclops used his rocket blaster to fly to the village.

Once they were at the village, they saw Vicolean in the center grabbing Pinky. "You're the most disgusting out of all the other . . . things," he grunted in discontent.

"Thank you! I'm the symbol of disgusting!" Pinky chuckled. Vicolean dropped Pinky and he ran off. Adorabat threw a smoke bomb at Vicolean, making him cough violently. 

Oh god; that made his gray swirly eye even worse.

He turned around and gritted his teeth at the three. He moved his eyes to the annoying bat holding a smoke bomb. "Look what you did you little brat!" he exclaimed, wincing afterwards and holding his stomach. Adorabat noticed that his once yellow swirly eye was a deep gray. 

"What happened to your eye...?" she asked, a little concerned for the villain.

"Mind your own business!" Vicolean wanted to use his super speed to beat Mao Mao and his friends easily, but if he used it one more time, he would black out. In fury, he took out his sword. "Mao Mao. Let's fight—me and you. No one else," he smirked. Mao Mao growled and took out his katana.

"Alright Vicolean. I'm ready for any of your stunts. But first, lemme make sure it's okay with my friends."

"You know what? Fine," Vicolean responded, crossing his arms. He watched as Mao Mao walked over to Badgerclops and Adorabat. He knew he was gonna tell them to go to the Sky Pirates' airship, but he knew the pirates would be fine.

Hopefully, they will be fine.

Vicolean stopped his thinking to see Badgerclops and Mao Mao kiss for some reason. _Kiss!_ Were they really a . . . _thing_ now? Vicolean rolled his eyes and stifled a laugh. _You've gotta be kidding me,_ he thought. He only met them once, and that was the only time he didn't see them as a couple.

Badgerclops and Adorabat headed to the airship, leaving Vicolean and Mao Mao to duel it out. "So," Vicolean started, "you and Badgerclops are actually boyfriends now?" He cackled in amusement. "I didn't know the sheriff was gay!" Mao Mao yelled his battle cry and punched Vicolean in the stomach. He dropped his sword and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Out of the blue, he coughed out a few droplets of blood. Mao Mao's eyes widened a little. He didn't think he punched him _that_ hard. Mao didn't have a care in the world, though. What Vicolean said to him was infuriating. 

"Say that again and I'm slicing you in half," Mao Mao warned.

"I know you wouldn't do that. W-would you?" Vicolean wheezed as he grabbed his sword and stood up slowly. His gray eye was seriously blurry. 

"Sure. Why not?" Their swords clanged together. They swung their swords in different directions and ways, clanging everytime. Mao Mao knocked Vicolean's sword out of his grip. That's something he thought he couldn't do.

Vicolean stood there, panting heavily. He was so weak he could drop to the ground at any second. This was _so_ dangerous for him. His eye was like a ticking time bomb. Any moment he could pass out into a coma or stop breathing! Vicolean knew that.

He's been through it before.

"Pfft," Mao Mao mocked, "I thought you were gonna be a challenge like last time. Just look at yourself. You're weak and defenseless. I bet under that mask you're hiding your own self-doubt." He drew his katana to Vicolean's face. "Face it. I won and you lost. Go home buddy." Mao Mao was so proud of himself.

Vicolean glared at the tip of Mao Mao's golden katana. "S-shut up hero. Y-you don't know my life. You don't know what I had to go through. Y-you . . . you don't . . . " He couldn't take it anymore. Vicolean fell to the ground and lost all his senses. 

Mao Mao didn't know why, but he was kind of worried for the villain. He noticed that his eye was gray the whole time he saw him. Maybe him passing out had to do with his eye. Mao Mao decided that the next best thing to do was to call the hospital. No matter how much he didn't want to.

Vicolean woke up on a bed of some sort. He was confused, angry, and a little scared. He also noticed his mask was off. 

The mask that hid his many nasty scars.

He felt a sharp, bright light hit his eyes and closed them immediately. Vicolean was gonna say "What is the meaning of this?!", but he didn't feel like talking and his voice was hoarse. A panda nurse came in. 

Wait - nurse? Was he in a hospital? 

"Ah," the nurse chirped, "you're awake! The person who called this hospital wanted to give a note to you. Would you like to read it now?"

Vicolean opened his eyes and stared at the panda before he finally croaked, "Sure. I-I also need water please." He didn't feel like arguing with the nurse. She nodded and handed him the note. She walked out of the room. Vicolean sat up, feeling a sting of pain as he did.

He opened the folded note and started from the beginning.

_Vicolean,_

_I know you won't really care, but I called the hospital. I decided while I was waiting I would write this note. Listen, I think you're a worthy opponent (unlike those pirates am I right?). You know your stuff. And what you said back there._

_You were right. I don't know your life. I don't know the excruciating pain you've been through or the suffering you had to endure. I'm not saying you have to go straight to my house and tell me your past or whatever. You already told me some of it with your eyes._

_Literally._

_Alright I'm done writing this stupid letter. See ya next time new nemesis._

_From Mao Mao_

Vicolean saw a tear drop onto the note. He quickly wiped his watery eyes. He didn't exactly know why he was crying. It wasn't because Mao Mao would be his nemesis now. It might be because it felt like Mao Mao actually knew his life. Even if he didn't. 

Vicolean remembered all the times his father and his mother ridiculed him for his lack of speed. All the times his bullies broke his nose. All the times he felt like a baby because his sister had to comfort him. He combined all those memories into the anger he was feeling. It burned like a thousand light bulbs.

And he would get to take his anger out on Mao Mao.

Right after he broke out of the hospital.


	4. The Big Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao needs to have an important discussion with Adorabat, but the pirates get involved and crying is included.
> 
> Great summary.

Mao Mao was lying on his bed, a rush of thoughts flooding in his head.

Whenever that was happening, he was thinking of something huge.

Like the time he was thinking about his love for Badgerclops. This time, he was thinking about Adorabat. The thought that he had was . . . extremely important. So important that his heart was beating out of his chest. Mao Mao thought deeper and deeper . . . .

"Mao Mao!" Adorabat chirped, poking his left arm. He quickly sat up and looked at the happy blue bat standing on the floor.

"Uh, yes Adorabat?" he said. She put her wings behind her back and kicked with her peg leg back and forth.

"You told me we were going on patrol in the afternoon. Just me and you! Badgerclops is sitting on the couch doing . . . badger stuff." Mao Mao's eyes widened a bit.

"That's right! I nearly forgot! Thanks for reminding me little deputy," Mao Mao exclaimed as he stood out of his bunk. Adorabat blushed and flew up.

"No problem! What were you doing on your bed?" she puzzled.

"N-Nothing! Just . . . thinking!" Mao Mao sputtered as he twiddled his fingers.

"Okay then! Let's go!" Adorabat bubbled and zoomed down to the garage.

"Give me a minute!" Mao Mao walked to the living room to see Badgerclops sleeping peacefully on the couch. His whole body took up all the space! Mao stifled a giggle, thinking about was he was gonna do. He put his hands on Badgerclops's stomach and brushed his fingers against it slowly.

Mao Mao saw his boyfriend's ears twitch a little. He moved his fingers a little faster. Badgerclops's mouth was slowly forming into a smile. Mao Mao's fingers moved even faster. Badgerclops woke up and laughed loudly.

"D-Dude! Stop it! Have mercy on me!" Badgerclops gurgled. Mao took his hands off his stomach and laughed as well. Badgerclops sat up, his laughter dying down. Mao Mao reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

Badgerclops's eye widened a little and he smiled. In return, he kissed Mao Mao on the forehead. "You're too much Mao Mao," he beamed.

"I know I am. Anywho, I'm going on patrol with Adorabat now. We'll be back in the evening alright?"

"Okay. I'm gonna take a 30-minute power nap. Then I'll just play some video games." Badgerclops crossed his legs on the couch. Mao Mao hugged his left arm.

"Hope you have fun doin' your badger things," Mao purred. Badgerclops chuckled, letting the cat hold his arm. Mao let go of his arm, ran to the pole that led to the garage, and slid down.

"Bye!" Badgerclops called.

Mao Mao and Adorabat were side by side, walking on the ecru (type of yellow) painted cobblestone. Mao Mao was sweating—from heat and nervousness. He was dying to tell Adorabat what he was thinking about, but he was scared as to what she would say. It would probably confuse her, but what if she doesn't approve? Mao Mao couldn't bare thinking about the whole idea.

"Mao Mao?" Adorabat said, snapping him back to reality. He looked down at her.

"Yeah?"

"Can we do this more often? Just the two of us? No offense to Badgerclops, but it's quieter without him." Mao Mao chuckled and knelt down to her.

"Of course we can. And yeah, Badgerclops is pretty noisy. I still love him though."

"You guys are an unbreakable force!" Adorabat spoke dramatically, pressing her wings together to motion the force. Mao Mao rubbed her head while blushing.

"Yes we are." All of a sudden, Adorabat got grabbed by a blur and tied up by it. She fell on ground, struggling against the ropes. "Adorabat!" Mao Mao exclaimed as he ran up to her, but got knocked back by a strong punch in the stomach. He wheezed and fell to his knees, coughing violently and hugging his stomach.

"Mao Mao!" Adorabat yelled.

"Well well well," Vicolean spoke. "If it isn't Mao Mao and the puny bat." He picked up Adorabat with his long tail. "Where's your boyfriend at? I expected to see him holding your hand or something." Mao Mao gritted his teeth.

"Shut your mouth Vicolean! Let her go or suffer the consequences!" he exploded as he stood up and swayed, still hugging his gut. Vicolean snickered in disbelief.

"What consequences? I just punched you in the stomach—you shouldn't be able to attack me that efficiently." Mao Mao muttered a curse.

He hated it when he was right.

"What do you want from us?" Vicolean rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to steal the source of your aerocycle, idiot."

"Why bother beating me up and tying her up? Go ahead— it's all yours," Mao Mao prompted.

"How can I be sure you're not lying? You're gonna go after me, even if I _am_ so much faster than you all," Vicolean bragged. He dropped Adorabat on the ground and walked up to Mao Mao. He looked down at him sinisterly while Mao Mao glared at him. "So this is what having the upper hand feels like. Nice."

Vicolean threw a forceful punch across Mao Mao's chin, knocking him out cold. He caught him as he fell and lifted his body over his shoulder.

"NO!" Adorabat cried as she squirmed in her bonds. Vicolean grabbed her with one paw and wrapped his arm around her. "Y-your a meanie and a monster!" Vicolean cackled.

"Words like yours cannot hurt me mentally child. Now would you kindly hush up before I bring you to the Sky Pirates' airship?" Vicolean provoked.

"Fine! But Badgerclops is gonna stop you for sure!"

"Sure. We'll see if that overweight badger can stop me," he deadpanned. Vicolean started running to the Sky Pirates' fallen airship with an unconscious Mao Mao and tied up Adorabat in tow.

Mao Mao heard a muffled voice through the ear ringing. The voice sounded like it was crying. He squeezed his shut eyes and opened them slowly. Out of instinct, he tried moving around, but his whole body was wrapped in ropes. Mao Mao heard the crying voice say his name. Then, he remembered.

Adorabat.

"Adorabat...?" Mao Mao groaned.

"Mao Mao!" Adorabat sniffled. His hearing was suddenly clear and he realized they were both hanging from the ceiling of the Sky Pirates' ship. Mao Mao felt extremely dizzy just hanging there and closed his eyes.

"Looks like we're in a bit of a pickle aren't we?" he said jokingly and annoyingly. He heard Adorabat whimpering in a way that broke his heart. Mao Mao opened his eyes and glanced at her. "Don't worry kid. Badgerclops is gonna defeat Vicolean and save us!"

"What if Vicolean finds the aerocycle?!" Adorabat worried.

"I put the aerocycle in a secret compartment. It'll take him ages to find it," Mao Mao smirked.

"In what secret compartment?" Orangusnake replied. They both looked down to see Orangusnake holding a giant laser gun. The other pirates stood with him.

"You really want me to tell you?"

"Yes! Answer me! Or you and Adorabat get the laser!" Mao Mao rolled his eyes while faking a frown.

"Alright . . . it's at the bottom of the waterfall near our house," Mao Mao lied. Orangusnake raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Mao nodded. "Okay then! Thanks for telling us loser!" The pirates cackled as they headed outside the airship. Adorabat and Mao Mao went back to looking at each other.

Adorabat asked, "That's not where you really put it right?" Mao Mao laughed, making his shark mouth.

"Absolutely not. Now they're gonna have to swim in the lake just to find the bike! Such dum dums!" he chortled. Adorabat giggled.

"Yeah!" It was silent for a few minutes until Adorabat said something. "Hey Mao Mao?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember that time when we pranked the Sky Pirates to think Pinky was the source of the energy? The energy for that giant robot?" she recalled. Mao Mao chuckled loudly.

"Heck yeah I do! They harassed Pinky so badly that day! He went to therapy for two months!" They both laughed.

"Oh oh! What about that time where you scared Badgerclops and he almost blasted your face off?! Luckily, it only burned your two hairs, but that was super funny!"

"Pfft, for you it was funny. His laser ended up blasting through the wall. We argued about who was gonna clean the mess," Mao Mao grinned. "By the way, he cleaned it."

"Yep . . . Mao Mao? You know I love you and Badgerclops right?" Adorabat smiled. Mao blushed a little and smiled back.

"I love you too Adorabat."

"I'm glad you do. I'm glad that you guys were always able to fix the problems I made and you still loved me." Mao Mao's smile turned into a frown.

He knew where _this_ was going.

Adorabat continued. "I dunno. I just feel like because I lost my . . . my leg, my parents left me. Well, my daddy did. I just saw my mom and daddy arguing about my safety a day after I got my peg leg. After that, my mom told me that daddy was gonna leave for a very long time." Mao watched as tears were rising in her eyes.

"Adorabat, if you don't wanna talk about this anymore, you can stop. You don't have to tell me the whole thing," Mao Mao assured her.

"NO! I-I'm still talking!" Mao Mao nodded.

"Alright. Go on."

"Okay. Three days after my daddy left, my mom got sick. Really sick. So sick that she - she . . . " Adorabat stopped, feeling a huge lump in her throat. Mao Mao saw a stream of tears go down her face.

He couldn't deal with it anymore.

Couldn't deal with her suffering like that.

If only he weren't tied in those ropes, he would've hugged her ever so tightly.

"Adorabat," he quavered, his voice cracking. Adorabat looked at Mao Mao with watery eyes.

"Y-yeah Mao Mao?"

"It's okay. Just stop talking about it. Stop thinking about it. Think about me. And Badgerclops. And how we would _never_ stop loving you and _never_ stop caring for you."

He gulped to shoo the tiny lump away.

"I always felt like I caused problems for my family too. That's why I felt like they abandoned me. For my foolish mistakes."

"Do you . . . " Adorabat sniffled, "do you feel alone sometimes?" Mao Mao thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"I used to think I was alone." She beamed at Mao Mao, completely ignoring her tears. "Until I met you guys!" Mao teared up a little and closed his eyes, chuckling.

"That's good. That you don't feel alone. You need to feel that," Mao Mao cried. "And I need to ask you something. I've been thinking about this since I was lying on my bed." Adorabat tilted her head to the right in curiosity.

"What is it?" she asked. Mao Mao breathed deeply and shakily. He wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her. He was too afraid. When he did think about it more, he realized that Adorabat's five. She might actually be super happy! Then again the whole thing about her parents . . . you know what?

Screw it.

"I was considering this for sometime, and I wanna know what you think about it," Mao Mao grinned. Oh god, the tears were coming! "Do you want Badgerclops and I to—adopt you?" Adorabat's pupils shrank so much Mao Mao thought they were gonna disappear.

"So that I could actually call you dad?" she exclaimed. Mao nodded, a lump forming in his throat again. Adorabat smiled while her lip quivered. "Yeah. YEAH! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!"

Mao Mao knew she would say something like that.

He choked out a sob, making Adorabat worried. "A-are you okay?" Mao Mao sniffed noisily.

"Yup. I'm just fine my little deputy," he blubbered. Suddenly, they heard someone calling their names. That someone was Badgerclops. Mao Mao looked down to see Badgerclops looking around. "Badgerclops?! We're right here!"

"Huh?" He looked up and spotted Mao Mao and Adorabat. "GUYS!" he blurted. Badgerclops used his robotic arm to take them down from the ceiling and unwrap them from the ropes. Mao Mao and Adorabat immediately hugged him. They were so glad he came!

"Badgerclops! Are you alright? How did you handle Vicolean?!" Mao Mao fretted. Badgerclops put a hand to Mao Mao's cheek and kissed him gently.

"It was actually pretty easy!"

Badgerclops explained how he was still napping when he heard the doors slide open. He immediately woke up and shot a net at Vicolean, sending him to the ground. He knocked him out and sent him out of Pure Heart Valley.

"And I didn't bother taking care of the Sky Pirates. They were in the waterfall for some reason...?" Badgerclops finished. Mao Mao grabbed his hand.

"I just . . . I'm glad you're okay. I don't want you to get hurt by that cheetah again." Badgerclops blushed and smiled at him.

"I'M BEING ADOPTED!" Adorabat screamed happily, who was standing on Badgerclops's robotic shoulder. Badgerclops gasped and his eye widened. He whipped his head to Mao Mao with shock and confusion in his expression. Mao Mao nodded, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. Badgerclops took Adorabat off his shoulder and hugged her. Mao Mao joined the hug.

"Y-yes you are little dude!" Badgerclops wept.

And so, Badgerclops and Mao Mao have offically adopted Adorabat. Apparently, Slim Piggins was the one knocking at their door with the adoption papers. Mao Mao couldn't sign them as tears kept dropping on the papers. After they were signed, Badgerclops, Mao Mao, and Adorabat stacked on top of each other on the sofa and watched TV for the rest of the day.

What a crazy and amazing adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teehee, Adoptabat.
> 
> I kind of wish I didn't make Adorabat get adopted just because Eugene exists. But a request I got on Wattpad helped me out. Oh yeah, I'm not taking requests at the moment in case you were thinking about it.


	5. Jealous Tanya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanya Keys finds out that Badgerclops and Mao Mao are a couple.

Tanya decided to visit Mao Mao and his friends. Mostly to mess with Mao again. When she spotted them patrolling, she saw something she never thought she would see.

Badgerclops and Mao Mao were holding hands!

Tanya knew that could mean anything, but she made the conclusion that they were actually a couple! Of course she was happy for them, but she also felt a pang of envy. Tanya remembered that time where she kissed Mao Mao on the cheek. She needed to respect Mao Mao and Badgerclops's relationship, but she felt kind of . . . betrayed. 

Trying her best not to look annoyed, she sneaked behind the two.

"Boo," Tanya said, making Mao Mao yelp and release his hand from Badgerclops's. She laughed and stepped between them, her hands on her back. 

"Hi Tanya!" Adorabat bubbled. She was perched on Badgerclops's head.

 _Heh,_ Tanya thought. She waved at the child. She turned to Mao Mao, who was recovering from the jump scare he got. 

"What are you doing here?" he seethed.

"C'mon Mittens. I can't drop by every now and then? To check on the new couple?!" Mao Mao blushed all the way up to his ears. Badgerclops giggled.

"S-Seriously...?"

"YES! I can't believe I didn't know sooner!" Adorabat gasped.

"I bet you didn't know that they adopted me!" she chirped. Tanya turned to Adorabat as her eyes widened a bit. Adopted?! She definitely didn't see _that_ coming. Badgerclops chuckled nervously as he blushed.

"Yup. We adopted her a few weeks ago," he stated proudly. Tanya tried to he happy for them. She _wanted_ to he happy for them.

But she just couldn't.

"Hey Mao Mao. Can we talk . . . in private?" she asked.

Mao Mao looked confused for a second, but then said, "Sure." Mao Mao and Tanya went in between two buildings where no one could find them. "What's the matter?"

"Well ya see . . . I'm just gonna say it right now. I like you." Mao Mao raised an eyebrow. That bounty hunter really did like him huh?

"But—"

"Yeah," Tanya interrupted. "I know. You're with Badgerclops. I honestly had no idea you were gay." Mao Mao shifted his feet back and forth. 

This was pretty awkward. They didn't have an honest to god serious conversation in a long time. Mao Mao coughed, feeling embarrassed. 

"Well now you know am I right?" Tanya sighed and looked away from him.

"I just . . . I loved you for so long, and I wanted to tell you, but I hid my feelings." Mao Mao actually felt kind of bad. He reached his hand out to her.

"Tanya I . . . I'm sor-" She quickly turned around and grabbed his hand.

"It's alright Mittens. I totally understand. I wanted to confess now to get it over with. You can be with your Badger friend—apologies, BOYfriend," she smirked. Mao Mao growled a little.

"Hope you find someone else," he muttered. Gee. That was a _great_ choice of words. Way to go Mao Mao. Tanya laughed.

"Are you kidding? Not in a million years! Well unless they're sneaky like me. We could work together and team up on you," she provoked. Mao Mao rolled his eyes, getting irritated.

"Yeah, yeah. That's nice." Tanya pulled out a leaf and turned it into an analog clock.

"Oh gee look at the time! Imma head back to my place. See who my next victim is." She threw the clock backwards, hearing it poof once it hit the ground.

"Alright. Make sure you say bye to Adorabat." Tanya nodded. 

Yup. Can't forget about his new daughter! 


	6. Say That You Love Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao attempts to help Badgerclops out with his issues, but their argument goes south quickly—maybe too quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Angst. Just ANGST AND SADNESS. Not through the whole one-shot, though.

Badgerclops and Mao Mao had a serious argument with each other. It was pretty intense. At least Adorabat thought it was as she was hiding behind her pillow, leaning against the wall of the bedroom. The whole thing was too much for Mao Mao. He rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

He slid down against the door, putting his knees close to his chest. He looked up at the ceiling. He felt like crying. But Mao Mao knew that crying over an argument showed weakness. It was just a measly argument! Nothing to bawl over! 

Mao Mao thought about using his katana to make a tiny cut on his arm, but he knew that would escalate. He was already physically hurt anyway. Mao Mao wrapped himself with his cape. He sighed shakily and recalled the event that occurred.

"What's wrong with you Badgerclops?!"

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you?!" 

"Making yourself vomit food out?! I thought you loved eating food!" Mao Mao found out about Badgerclops's habit when he went to the bathroom and saw vomit in the toilet. He asked him about it. Badgerclops seemed a little anxious at first, but told him the truth. 

Badgerclops started tearing up. "I-I just . . . I couldn't cope," he mumbled. Mao Mao looked worried and gently grabbed his furry arm.

"Cope with what?"

"Just - EVERYTHING! Dealing with calls from my family, adopting Adorabat, being with you!" Mao Mao immediately let go of his arm and looked a little angry.

"Being with me? You couldn't cope with that? What's wrong with adopting Adorabat?" he wondered annoyingly.

"It's not like that!" Badgerclops said, shaking his head. Mao Mao crossed his arms.

"Why didn't you come to me and Adorabat? We can cheer you up! We'll help you deal with your problems!" 

"No you can't! It's not that simple Mao Mao Mao!" 

"Can you please stop calling me that?" Mao Mao grumbled.

"Whatever. Anyways, it's like these ingredients representing my emotions. All of them are utterly disgusting! Then, you mix them together and they become this super messed up treat that no one wants to eat!" Badgerclops threw his hands up halfway through his last sentence. 

Mao Mao tried his best to understand what he was saying. "Badgerclops-"

"What's up with YOU lately man?! You've been acting pretty distant!" Mao Mao's eye twitched.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Uh HELLO?! You haven't been kissing me at least three times a day! Heck, you didn't kiss me at all for the past week!" Badgerclops noted. Mao Mao muttered something while looking down. Badgerclops put his hand under Mao's chin and lifted his head up to look at him. "What did you say?"

Mao Mao swatted Badgerclops's hand away. "D-don't touch me!" he snapped. Badgerclops narrowed his opened eye at him.

"I mean I understand your personal space, but you usually let me do that!" Mao Mao's lip quivered. He didn't wanna talk about _his_ problems either.

"Well then I want MORE space!" He pushed Badgerclops away. Badgerclops pushed him in response.

"You're getting on my nerves Mao Mao Mao!" he retorted.

"I thought you agreed that you weren't gonna call me that anymore!" Mao pushed him harder, making him fall on his butt. Badgerclops stood up and punched Mao Mao in the cheek. The side of his head knocked against the hard wooden floor. Badgerclops's punch was far more powerful than normal. Mao Mao's ears rang as he dizzily looked up at Badgerclops.

Badgerclops gasped and knelt down to him. "Oh my god! I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" he blurted. He put a hand on Mao Mao's back and sat him up. Badgerclops gingerly touched the forming bruise on his cheek, making him flinch. He couldn't hear Badgerclops, but knew he was trying to apologize.

And Mao wasn't having any of it.

They sat there for awhile before Mao Mao's hearing came back. He managed to get up with Badgerclops's help. Badgerclops gulped.

"I'm really sorry Mao Mao, I-"

"Get away from me you bitch!" Mao Mao yelled. Badgerclops's eye widened. He did NOT just call him that! He could've said anything else but THAT! Badgerclops's eye filled with tears.

"Thanks for hurting my feelings bastard!" he cried. Mao Mao's eyes widened and he covered his mouth, realizing what he said. Not Badgerclops. Don't damage his sensitive feelings.

Don't hurt him.

_But you already did._

Mao Mao started to say a whole apology typed in his head, but Badgerclops said something heartbreaking.

"We're done." Now tears were filling _Mao Mao's_ eyes. He quickly wiped them away and dashed to the bathroom without a word.

Adorabat softly knocked on the door. "Mao Mao? Are you okay? What happened?" she fretted. Mao Mao got up and opened the door slowly. Adorabat noticed the bruise on his cheek and gasped. "Did Badgerclops . . . "

Mao nodded and sniffed. Adorabat jumped onto his chest and hugged him tightly. "H-he broke up with me," he croaked as he wrapped his arms around her. Adorabat didn't say anything. She just hugged him.

In her mind, she was shocked and scared. _What would happen next? Are they still gonna be friends? Is Badgerclops gonna leave us?_ Adorabat thought. But she knew one thing. They needed to be together again. She looked up from Mao Mao's chest.

"Y'all need to be a couple again! Please!" Adorabat pleaded. Mao Mao thought for a moment.

"How is he ever going to forgive me? I called him a bad word," he admitted. Adorabat's pupils grew small in shock, but quickly turned normal. 

"Don't worry Mao Mao! I'm sure he will!" Mao sighed and broke the hug.

"It's not that simple Adorabat. Breaking up with someone . . . it can take a long time to forgive." She tugged the bottom of his cape.

"Well I believe you two can work it out. You got this dad!" she smiled. Mao Mao blushed and smiled at Adorabat calling him dad.

"You know what? I think you're right deputy. I'll try to talk with Badgerclops."

"Yay!" Mao Mao patted her head and went to the living room to find Badgerclops. He's not there. Mao looked outside noticing it was evening. No sign of the badger. Suddenly, he remembered the one place he would be at.

The dojo.

Mao Mao zoomed to the dojo to see Badgerclops standing by the railings. His back was turned away from him. Mao Mao took one cautious step forward.

"B-Badgerclops?" he stuttered. "I know you're thinking about a lot of things at the moment, but I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart." _If I even have one._ Badgerclops didn't say a thing. "Calling you a bitch . . . that was so idiotic of me.

Silence.

Mao Mao took another step forward. "And yeah, there is something up with me. I haven't been giving you the love you needed. I haven't been asking you about those constant phone calls from your family. I _have_ been distant.

More silence.

Tears dribbled down his face. He started hiccuping. "I'm a horrible boyfriend Badgerclops! I don't deserve your comfort! I deserve to be left in the cold!" Mao Mao wept. He cried quietly and wrapped his arms around himself. As if he was giving himself a hug.

Badgerclops couldn't take hearing the cat cry. For _him!_ He turned around and walked up to Mao Mao. "C'mere Mao Mao Mao," he said. Badgerclops pulled him into a comforting, warm hug. Mao put his arms around Badgerclops, his crying turning to sobbing.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mao Mao blubbered. Badgerclops rubbed his back and petted his head.

"Shhh, it's alright. Everything's okay. I'm here," he soothed him. After a few minutes of what seemed like endless hugging, Mao Mao pulled back enough to look up at Badgerclops.

"I hate hurting your feelings," he sniffled. Badgerclops chuckled and wiped some of Mao's tears away.

"It's alright dude. I honestly don't know why you apologized! I did way worse things than you! I didn't talk to you about my problems, I punched you in the face, _and_ I'm the one that wanted to break up with you!" Tears pricked in the corner of his eye. "I should be the one apologizing." 

Mao Mao reached up to stroke Badgerclops's cheek, but stopped.

"Can I . . . . " Badgerclops formed a cute smile.

"Sure." Mao Mao proceeded to stroke the badger's cheek. 

"Do you wanna be my boyfriend again?" Mao asked shyly. Badgerclops leaned down and pecked his lips. He nodded. Mao Mao's cheeks turned a crimson red. He smirked and kissed Badgerclops.

The two heard sniffling. They turned to the entrance of the dojo to see Adorabat. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she squealed. "Too bad I don't have tissues." Badgerclops and Mao Mao laughed. Adorabat flew over to them and squeezed them in a group hug.

"Now," Mao Mao said, "we all need to promise that we'll discuss our conflicts. Right?" Adorabat and Badgerclops agreed. They all broke the hug. "Great. First things first, Badgerclops. That vomiting problem of yours we need to fix."

"Are you sure you can?" Badgerclops asked. Mao Mao took his hand.

"Is there any I CAN'T fix?" Adorabat perched on Mao's head.

"Don't forget about me!" she sang. He smiled at her.

"You too Adorabat." They all headed inside to sit on the couch. Seems like the family's back together again.


	7. Let's Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao is convinced to go to a party that Snugglemagne hosts. But he ISN'T convinced about dancing with his boyfriend.

"A party at Snugglemagne's castle?" Mao Mao said, looking at the flyer Slim Piggins sent him. "Pfft, just wait until a beast comes in and ruins it."

"I hope that doesn't happen!" Badgerclops exclaimed. "This is like, one of the only opportunities we get to relax!" Mao Mao scoffed.

"Badgerclops we get to relax at least two days a week."

"Yeah," Adorabat added, "but we only get to rest for two hours until the monster or the royal alarm rings!" 

"Two hours is a lot of time in a day Adorabat!" Mao Mao noted a bit angrily. Badgerclops crossed his arms.

"Well two hours is like 10 minutes!" he commented. Mao Mao groaned in frustration.

"Whatever. We'll go to this . . . party." Adorabat cheered and flew in circles. She suddenly gasped.

"What are we gonna wear?!" 

Badgerclops said, "Oh yeah. It is a party after all. At _Snugglemagne's_ castle."

"Do we really need to wear something? What if a monster shows up? Or the Sky Pirates?" Mao Mao complained. The only reason why he said that was that standing in a suit with your boyfriend instead of your best friend. . . it would feel awkward.

"I dunno, just wear a suit over your clothing! Ya did it last time." Mao sighed.

"Alright alright. The party's at 7. We have an hour."

"AN HOUR TO PICK MY FANCIEST DRESS!" Adorabat screamed happily. She zoomed to the bedroom to look inside the closet. Mao Mao felt Badgerclops kiss him on the cheek. He blushed deeply since the kiss came without warning.

"I can't wait!~" Badgerclops sang. Mao Mao chuckled nervously. Glancing at the flyer again, he noticed an arrow at the bottom right corner. He turned it over and read the following message:

_Oh yes! There will also be a slow dance for anyone interested!_

_(I put this on the back for dramatic effect)_

Mao Mao grumbled, wishing Snugglemagne put that on the front.

"Whaaa? A slow dance?" Badgerclops spoke sarcastically. "I wonder who's gonna do that with me!" Mao Mao blushed again, but only a tiny bit.

"I'm gonna get my suit. You comin'?" Mao Mao asked as he walked to the bedroom, flyer clenched in his hand. 

"Yup!" 

An hour later, the Sheriff's Department arrived at Snugglemagne's castle. Mao Mao was in his white suit and Badgerclops was in his gray one. Adorabat was in a light blue dress with tons of ruffles on the bottom of it.

Mao Mao and Badgerclops's daughter looked _adorable!_

At the party, Mao Mao and Badgerclops stood side by side. Badgerclops wanted to drink all the punch, but Mao Mao persuaded him not to. Mao had his sword out, making sure no one was possibly doing crime in the castle. Adorabat was dancing, talking to the kid Sweetiepies. 

"Dude," Badgerclops said, "do you have to leave your sword out? Your kinda freaking out the Sweetiepies." Mao Mao glanced at him then back to all the Sweetiepies on the dance floor.

"Who knows what illegal things someone might do. Heck someone could be disguised as a villain!" Mao Mao explained. Badgerclops sighed and took Mao Mao's katana out of his grip. He held it up high incase Mao tried to reach for it. Shockingly, he didn't. Instead Mao Mao gave him a glare and crossed his arms.

"For once can you relax Mao Mao? I just wanna spend this valuable time with _you!_ " Badgerclops wished, adding emphasis to "you." Mao blushed and felt shame building up inside him. He sighed quietly.

"Sorry Badgerclops. I'll put my katana away." Badgerclops smiled and handed him his katana. As promised, Mao Mao sheathed his sword. Badgerclops wrapped an arm around him.

"It's okay. I'll always love you." Mao Mao beamed and leaned into his embrace.

Thirty minutes of messing around later, Snugglemagne makes an announcement on a microphone. "Okay everyone! The moment you have all been waiting for! Slow dance time! Grab a friend or a soulmate!" he bubbled.

The lights went dim. A familiar song played that filled Mao's ears. 

The Night We Met.

Oh man.

Mao Mao watched as Adorabat took Kevin's hand. That made him a bit curious. Suddenly, Badgerclops pulled Mao onto the dance floor.

"This is it Mao Mao!" Badgerclops spoke in a quiet voice. Mao's face turned red and he connected his hands on his back.

Was he ready?

"B-Badgerclops . . . I'm not sure if I can do this," he whispered admittedly. Badgerclops raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know . . . I know how to slow dance, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to do it with _you_. E-everyone's gonna be watching us! Two - two gay-" Badgerclops hugged Mao Mao tightly. Tears pricked in Mao's eyes as he hugged back.

"Let em' watch. Let them think about our relationship. But we are one of the many symbols of love. Got it?" Mao Mao pulled back to look at Badgerclops and nodded. Then, they got into a slow dance position. 

Mao Mao managed to put his arms on Badgerclops's shoulders. Badgerclops wrapped his arms around Mao's lower back. They were at a close distance with each other as they swayed to the beat. Eventually, Mao Mao leaned his head on Badgerclops's chest, sighing nonchalantly.

"This isn't so bad," Mao said.

"Not at all," Badgerclops responded. Mao Mao listened to Badgerclops's steady heartbeat. "You're adorable man." Mao glared at him.

"I'm not-" he stopped talking and lost his glare. He smirked. "Pfft seriously? You're ten times the adorableness."

"Well you're a hundred times the adorableness!"

"Your adorableness is infinite." Mao Mao lifted himself off the ground. Badgerclops got the idea and held him. Now Mao Mao looked slightly taller than Badgerclops. They rested their heads against each other, blush covering their cheeks. 

Mao Mao noticed that the song was almost over, so he bought Badgerclops in for a long kiss. Badgerclops kissed him back and cupped Mao's cheek. They heard some people clapping and murmuring. It was clear that it was for them.

Maybe this party wasn't so bad after all.

Oh who was Mao Mao kidding?! Of course it was amazing!


	8. Adorabat's Secret Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the worried fluffy dads see a strange mark on Adorabat's ear, they confront her about it. After they find out who her boyfriend is, they decide to give him a good torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's interesting and popular due to it being the 2nd one-shot with the most views.  
> And it was requested from someone on Wattpad, but don't attack them if you're not comfortable with this one-shot.

Adorabat came home from school with a cheerful look on her face. It was the most cheerful she ever was in a week. 

"Hi Mao Mao! Hi Badgerclops!" she chirped as she saw them on the couch.

"Hey Adorabat!" Mao Mao said. "How was school?" She blushed and put her wings up. She didn't feel like correcting the word "skewl" for him.

"It was one of the best days I've ever had!" Mao Mao raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Mind telling us what happened?" Adorabat hummed for a moment.

"Nope. Also, you guys are the best dads that I've ever had! Besides my original one of course," she claimed. Mao Mao and Badgerclops's eyes widened. Mao actually started to tear up.

"Aww," Badgerclops smiled, "thanks Adorabat!"

"No problem!" Adorabat started flying to the bedroom. Mao Mao noticed a strange bite on the back of her ear. There was also a bruise underneath it. Did someone hurt her?!

"Adorabat! Come back here right now!" Mao Mao demanded. Adorabat stopped and flew back to Mao and Badgerclops. She landed on the floor in front of them.

"What's wrong?" Adorabat asked nervously. Mao Mao bet she said that dad thing to keep him from asking about skewl.

"Why is there a bite on the back of your ear?!" She gulped and started sweating.

"U-Um . . . it's because . . . I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" Everything went silent. Badgerclops chuckled. He felt like he was going crazy.

He knew what kind of bite that was.

"Wow . . . now that's something," he spoke in a crazed voice. Badgerclops grabbed Mao Mao's wrist. "If you'll excuse us for one moment, Mao Mao Mao and I need to talk." Badgerclops went to the dojo with Mao Mao where Adorabat wouldn't hear them. "Dude you know what that bite is right?!"

"No. What is it?" Mao asked.

"That's a love bite! Also known as a hic-" Mao Mao covered Badgerclops's mouth and gave him a horrified look.

"Don't. Even. Say it." Mao Mao removed his hand from the badger's mouth and sighed. "We're dealing with kindergartners here. Kindergartners who do odd things. We gotta ask Adorabat who her-"

"MAO MAO! BADGERCLOPS!" Adorabat yelled as she flew into the dojo. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I-I'm sorry I came in here, but my bite hurts a lot!" Mao Mao immediately picked her up in one arm.

"Don't worry little deputy. We'll get you patched up. But you need to tell us something," Mao Mao said as he and Badgerclops walked into the living room. "Mkay?"

"Okay."

Once they took care of her love bite (even though it still hurt a little), they all sat on the sofa. Adorabat put her whole body on the sofa, her head lying on the armrest.

"You said it would go away in a few days right Badgerclops?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Adorabat," Mao Mao started, "who's your boyfriend?" Her pupils went small.

"I-I swear the bite wasn't anything weird! It was suppose to show a symbol of love!" she insisted.

"Adorabat!" Mao Mao repeated, raising his voice. "Who is your boyfriend?" Adorabat crossed her wings and huffed.

"I'm not telling you." Mao Mao's eye twitched.

"Adorabat you better tell us right this instant! I demand to know who did this to you!"

"Did you hear anything I said?!" Adorabat seethed.

"What about back at that party? When you were dancing with Kevin? Is he your boyfriend?" She gave Mao Mao a death glare.

"You don't know anything about my skewl life! And I wanna keep it that way!"

"ADORA-" Badgerclops put a hand on Mao Mao's shoulder.

"Don't force her to talk dude. How do you think you and I felt when people would eventually know about _us_?" he cautioned. Badgerclops did have a point. A point that made Mao Mao irritated. He just wanted to keep Adorabat safe.

No, he wanted to keep his _daughter_ safe.

Mao Mao muttered something before talking. "Alright alright. This means we have to go to her school tomorrow. See who the culprit is," he growled.

"UGH! Fine! Do what you want! I don't care!" Adorabat shouted. Mao Mao sighed and put one of her wings in his hand.

"You realize that we're doing this for your safety right?" he spoke calmly. Adorabat nodded.

* * *

The next day, Mao Mao flew Adorabat to skewl on the aerocycle. Badgerclops came as well. In the classroom, Mao Mao lined up all the kindergartners in a line. As he was doing that, something important came to his mind. Adorabat doesn't know what a girlfriend is.

She only knows what a boyfriend is from Mao Mao and Badgerclops's relationship. For all they know, she could be lesbian!

"Okay everyone," Mao Mao said. "You all know why you're being lined up right?" The Sweetiepies blinked at him. Completely clueless. Mao Mao groaned and did a facepalm. "You're here because of the bruise on my little girl's ear! Someone's gonna need to fess up! Who hurt Adorabat?!"

No one said a thing. All of them looked frightened to the core. "We can stand here all day if you want to. But I'm not leaving until _someone—_ "

"It was Chubbums!" Kevin quavered. In an instant, Mao Mao knelt down to Kevin and gave him the most sharpest, threatening look he's ever made.

"What about him...?" Mao Mao prodded.

"H-he told me not tell anyone why he did it, but I know he did!" Mao Mao grinned and chuckled sinisterly, showing all of his sharp teeth.

"That's all I need. Thanks Kevin. You're a good kid when you want to be." Kevin nodded quickly as his whole body was shaking.

"KEVIN!" Chubbums yelled. "Why did you say that?! It was suppose to be a secret between us and Adorabat!" Mao Mao yanked Chubbums by the arm.

"Well I guess it isn't anymore. Alright, I'm done here. Y'all can go back to your lives. Badgerclops and I are going back to HQ. With Chubbums."

When Mao Mao and Badgerclops zoomed back home with Chubbums, Kevin walked up to Adorabat.

"What's gonna happen to Chubbums?" Kevin asked.

"I dunno, but one's thing's for sure, he's not gonna make it out alive!" Adorabat said in an dark voice.

* * *

Dadmao and Dadgerclops bought Chubbums into the unused room. They called it the interrogation room ever since Mao Mao tortured Ratarang. Mao Mao placed Chubbums in a chair and put restraints on his arms and legs.

"So, Chubbums," Mao Mao said as he and Badgerclops loomed over the fat frog. "Why did you do it?"

"D-do what?" Chubbums stuttered. Mao Mao threw his katana past Chubbum, freaking him out a bit.

"You know what dummy! The bruise on Adorabat! Why the extreme choice?!" Mao snapped as he walked to his katana sticking in the wall and pulled it out.

"I don't know!" Badgerclops squinted his closed eye at Chubbums.

"Listen kid, you need to tell us the truth or else," he muttered tartly. The Sweetiepie smirked.

"Or else what?" Chubbums chuckled. Badgerclops looked at Mao Mao.

"Can I go get the torture tool now? He's getting on my nerves." Mao Mao reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sure thing." Badgerclops smiled and blushed. He walked fast to the garage to get the tool. He came back with three full buckets of water. Chubbums yelped in fear.

"H-how do you...?" he stuttered. Mao Mao chuckled.

"We saw you fall in a puddle of water one time. You have a phobia or something?"

"Y-yeah!" Badgerclops stifled a laugh.

"Now will you tell us?" Mao Mao asked. "About why you gave Adorabat the bite?" Chubbums shook his head. _Stubborn little bastard._ Mao Mao signaled Badgerclops to dump a full bucket of water onto Chubbums.

"AH! GET IT OFF ME!" Chubbums yelled. He squirmed around in the chair, desperately wanting to escape the feeling.

"Tell us or else you're getting two more dumps of water!"

"OKAY OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU! IT STARTED AT THE DANCE!"

"Alright," Badgerclops said. "Keep going."

"So before the dance started, I was talking to my friends about how I was gonna ask Adorabat to be my girlfriend. Everyone encouraged me, even Snugglemagne's servant did! Pinky thought she would say no, but I-"

"Just get to the _point_ already!" Mao Mao growled, drawing his katana in front of Chubbums.

"S-Sorry! W-When the slow dance started, I was about to ask Adorabat if she wanted to dance with me. That's when I saw it. Kevin asked her before me! And the worst part?! She said yes! I felt so angry and heartbroken!

"The next day at skewl, I talked to Kevin about what happened at the dance. I told him that you can't steal my chance of being Adorabat's boyfriend!"

Chubbums said that he asked Adorabat later in the day if she wanted to be his girlfriend. She said, "Sure! As a bonus, I won't pick on your habits of bragging and getting every single math question right." Chubbums told her that he needed to give her a love bite since it showed a "symbol of kindergarten love."

When he was finished, the look on Mao Mao and Badgerclops's face was priceless. Mao Mao had a mixture of anger and confusion on his face while his ears were twitching. Badgerclops's eye was narrowed, showing disgust and disappointment.

"Uh," Mao Mao coughed, "that's a sad and slightly uneasy story. But look - love bites are . . . very unnecessary for your age. Or for any age in my opinion!"

"Are you sure they're really that unnecessary for our age?" Badgerclops asked. "I'm just sayin' because . . . ." Mao Mao blushed deeply and glared at him.

"Don't tell me what I think you're implying Badgerclops!" Badgerclops laughed.

"I'm just joking dude! Of course I wouldn't do that! Unless you want me to."

"Heck no!" After the interrogation, Badgerclops and Mao Mao brought Chubbums back to skewl with a warning: He can be Adorabat's boyfriend unless he does anything to hurt her!

After skewl, Adorabat flew home and hugged both of her dads. "Thank you soooo so much guys! You're truly are the best dads to let me have a boyfriend!" Mao Mao and Badgerclops blushed, trying not to spill their tears out.

"No problem Adorabat," Mao Mao said.

" _You_ are the best daughter to let us adopt you as a daughter!" Badgerclops exclaimed. Adorabat giggled.

Thus, the crazy boyfriend problem was finally over!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, imagine if Adorabat x Chubbums was canon-


	9. Meow Meow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orangusnake has a plan up his "sleeve" that will surely have Mao Mao on all fours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one (3,949 words). Sorry if you lose interest while reading because it's long, but I got into it.

"RAAAHHHH!" Mao Mao yelled, charging at Orangusnake with a strike of his katana. Orangusnake got knocked back, but managed to stay standing. The two enemies continued to sword duel like always.

"I will beat you Mao Mao!" Orangusnake shouted.

"You've said that every other time you fought me." Mao followed that with a snicker. He viciously swung at Orangusnake once more, but he blocked it.

"I KNOW THAT! If only Vicolean didn't decide to leave temporarily, this would be much more easi-" Orangusnake yelped at Adorabat passing by him, then Ramaraffe bonked her head into Orangusnake's. "RAMARAFFE! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

"It's not my fault!" Ramaraffe retorted. "You were in the way!"

"Well you should be better at maneuvering that neck of yours around!" Orangusnake and Ramaraffe kept arguing and Mao Mao just watched. 

_They really need to build their friendship skills,_ Mao thought. Suddenly, he got hit in the side of his head with a hard object. He rubbed his head and quickly looked around to see what hit him. 

He looked behind to see not an object, but Ratarang charging at him in boomerang form. Mao Mao grabbed him just in time and threw him far away. He would come back, but he was easy to dodge.

Boss Hosstrich was running away from Badgerclops and into a cluster of bushes. 

"Giving up already? That's weak!" Badgerclops mocked. Orangusnake looked in the direction of Boss Hosstrich.

"Release the beast!" Orangusnake said. Out of the blue, a giant, light green monster formed from behind the bushes. Orangusnake and Ramaraffe ran back to their fallen airship with Boss Hosstrich. "Have fun Meow Meow!" 

Mao Mao raised an eyebrow. Who dare calls him Meow Meow?! "Is that another one of your stupid nicknames?!" Mao Mao hollered. Without thinking (mostly because of the raw emotion he felt from that insult), Mao Mao leaped at the monster's neck with his katana held back. The monster releases sky blue fumes through its nose.

It smacks Mao Mao in the chest, enveloping him in a cloud and forcing him to the ground. He went into a coughing fit.

"MAO MAO!" Badgerclops and Adorabat shouted. Adorabat started flying to him, but Badgerclops told her to stop. 

"Flying into a cloud of toxins is the last thing you wanna do!"

"B-but what about Mao Mao?!" Adorabat said as she started flying to the ground, but stopped in hesitation. Mao Mao got up and stumbled out of the cloud.

"Don't worry y'all," Mao Mao mumbled. "I can still defeat it!" He dashed up to the monster and continuously hit its leg with his sword. He was totally out of it. Not to mention that he felt drunk. Mao Mao stopped and looked up at the monster. "S-see...? I did it . . . . " He dropped sideways to the ground and blacked out.

Badgerclops carried Mao Mao out of the area and defeated the monster with Adorabat's help. Badgerclops scanned Mao Mao to see if the toxins were hazardous.

He looked at the results and got confused. There were toxins that had . . . catnip in them? There was lots of it. The scent of jasmine was found in the toxins as well.

"This is pretty odd. Luckily the toxins aren't dangerous, but there are abnormal amounts of catnip and jasmine," Badgerclops confirmed. Adorabat's pupils shrank.

"Catnip?! Does that mean Mao Mao's gonna act weird?"

"I guess so." Mao Mao's eyelids scrunched up a little. His glowing green eyes fluttered open. He clumsily pulled off his gloves as he felt uncomfortable in them. He rolled onto his stomach and one by one put his paws on the ground, trying to regain his balance. Mao Mao sat down and struggled pulling off his cape. 

"Mroooow!" he grumbled. Badgerclops and Adorabat gasped.

"Did he just meow?!" Badgerclops whispered. 

"And why is he taking off his clothes?" Adorabat asked, whispering as well. Badgerclops cautiously walked up to the irritated Mao Mao and gingerly pulled off his cape. He figured he'd be uncomfortable in his cuisses as well, so he took those off of Mao Mao. Adorabat picked up his gloves with her feet. 

Mao Mao stood on all fours and turned to face Badgerclops. The fur on his back pointed up as he growled and backed away.

"Heeey Mao Mao. It's me, Badgerclops." Mao Mao's slit eyes widened a bit, showing that he was turning calm. He approached Badgerclops and rubs his head against him. Badgerclops remembered reading a book about cat behaviors, and that action meant that Mao Mao approved him. It was so adorable!

"Aww, Mao Mao likes you!" Badgerclops blushed a little as he looked down at Mao Mao.

"I guess he does!" Badgerclops kneels on both knees. Was this actually happening to his own boyfriend? Maybe if Badgerclops pinches himself, he'll wake up and it will all be a dream. Then again, he didn't want to.

Mao Mao hopped onto his knees and rests his head on his stomach. He placed one of his paws on his stomach, feeling Badgerclops's fur. Next thing you know, he starts purring—it's quiet, but still adorable. Badgerclops's lip quivered. "You're gonna make me cry Mao Mao!"

Badgerclops stood back up with Mao Mao curled up in his arms. Mao groaned a bit from being picked up, but he went right back to purring. 

"Do you have any idea what we should do?" Adorabat asked. Badgerclops shook his head.

"Nope! Not a single clue. But what I do know is that we should mess around with this opportunity."

"Opportunity...?" Adorabat flew onto Badgerclops's shoulder.

"An opportunity to do things with Mao Mao that we never got to do! It'll be so much fun!" 

"Okay!" Adorabat chirped. They went back to HQ on the aerocycle. Badgerclops put Mao Mao on the floor, and placed his cape and cuisses on the table. Adorabat did the same with his gloves. 

Mao didn't seem to have a problem with his socks. Or his sash for some reason. Usually animals would feel anxious if they had clothing on. 

Badgerclops tried taking Mao Mao's sheathe (where his katana is stored) off, but he would hiss everytime Badgerclops got close to it.

Mao Mao started sniffing everywhere, starting from the bottom part of the sofa. Badgerclops opened a tiny red light from his robotic finger.

He always thought he would get to try this out one day.

A red dot appeared on Mao Mao's paw. He tried swatting it away, but it moved to his invisible nose. He started growling as he got irritated from not being able to grab the dot. Suddenly, the dot moved across the floor. Mao Mao ran after it. The dot moved to the ceiling above the sofa. Mao Mao jumped on the sofa, went on the frame of it, and pounced at the ceiling.

Sadly, the dot didn't appear in Mao's paws. He fell back down to the sofa, bouncing on the cushions a bit. Adorabat and Badgerclops laughed. Badgerclops put the dot away and approached the annoyed Mao Mao, who was lying on his back and his paws stuck in the air a bit.

"Sorry Mao," Badgerclops said, a smirk forming on his face. "It's fun to mess around with you!"

"Mrow . . . . " Mao Mao mumbled as he stood up. He pounced off the couch and walked to Adorabat, who was flying above him. He leaped up to her to grab her, but Adorabat flew higher.

"What is he doing...?" Adorabat asked. Badgerclops put a paw on his hip.

"I think you should go to the floor with him." Adorabat did what Badgerclops said, standing on the floor in front of Mao Mao. He curled into a ball around Adorabat and started licking the front of her ear. Adorabat giggled. 

"Ew Mao Mao! Stop it! It tickles!" 

A few seconds later Mao Mao stopped. He proceeded to nuzzle Adorabat's cheek, then lied his huge head against her tiny body. She fell to the ground from the weight of Mao Mao's head. It was now lying on her small chest.

"Badgerclops, he's crushing me!" Adorabat wheezed. Badgerclops lifted Mao Mao up by his waist. Mao Mao's calm eyes went slit. He meowed angrily, kicking his legs and waving his arms around. He didn't like being picked up like that.

"Sorry dude, but it would be better if you didn't try to suffocate Adorabat," Badgerclops said. His eye widened as he got another idea. He took out yarn from his robotic arm while holding Mao Mao by his back with his other paw.

That's right. Yarn. Badgerclops was obviously prepared for a time like this. He admitted to himself that it was a little creepy that he was keeping all this cat stuff with him. After seeing some of Mao Mao's cat habits, Badgerclops thought he could do something with a red dot or some yarn. Though Mao Mao swore that he would never do anything with those two things.

"If you EVER trick me into one of your 'great ideas,'" Mao once said, "I'll take away all your video games. And crush them." Badgerclops knew he wasn't gonna do that, but he never used his red dot or yarn on Mao Mao ever since he said that. He couldn't take any chances.

Anyways, Mao saw the ball of yarn in Badgerclops's robotic paw and his eyes widened into miniature saucers. He reached his tiny bean out for it. It looked like he was pleading for it, and if he didn't get to hold it, he would never see it again.

Badgerclops couldn't take his cuteness. "Daw, okay dude. Here ya go." He gave Mao Mao the yarn and set him down on the floor. Mao Mao played with it as if he were a cub playing with another cub. 

Suddenly, "Save my bacon! I'm really in a jam!" That was the annoying sound of the royal alarm. Badgerclops groaned as Adorabat perched on his shoulder. 

"C'mon, seriously? At a time like this?" Badgerclops complained. 

"WAIT! Can we bring Mao Mao with us? Please?" Adorabat pleaded, stretching out the word "please." As Badgerclops was thinking he felt something furry against his leg. He looked at his feet and saw Mao Mao nestle the side of his head into his leg. He smiled and bent down to scratch the back of Mao Mao's ear.

"Sure! I don't see why not." Badgerclops picked up Mao Mao by his waist, seeing how seemingly far his body stretched to floor before he finally got him off the floor. Badgerclops cradled the small cat in one arm as he went to garage and on the aerocycle. 

He gingerly placed Mao Mao in front of him and moved his own sash over Mao's chest. It acted like a seat belt. 

"Meooooooow," Mao grumbled as he tried to get out of the sash.

"No Mao Mao!" Badgerclops warned as he pushed Mao Mao's arms over his sash, making the sash stick to Mao's chest again. "I don't want you falling out of the aerocycle, especially with the state you're in!"

Mao looked down, kicking his legs at a moderate pace. Badgerclops swore that he saw him nod a little bit. But he wasn't sure. He extended his robotic arm to the living room, feeling for the ball of yarn he forgot to pick up. He found it and gave it to Mao Mao, who swiped it in his paws. _That should do it._

* * * 

"There you all are!" Snugglemagne sighed as he stood up straight in his throne. "What in the world took you so-" He paused to stare at Mao Mao sitting on four feet. He didn't have all of his clothing on either. "Has the sheriff been infected? With some sort of disease?" 

"Uh, no," Badgerclops said. "Lemme explain."

Badgerclops told the whole story of why Mao Mao was acting like a real cat. When he was done, Snugglemagne nodded.

"I see. At least he's still loyal to me. And I say, he is quite adorable as a cat!" Mao Mao looked up at the King from licking his paw. His eyes narrowed as he growled at him. 

"Oh, hehe," Badgerclops chuckled as he started sweating a bit. "I don't think he likes you calling him adorable." He reached down to Mao Mao and petted the back of his ear again. Mao immediately calmed down and closed his eyes as he purred. "Man, this always works!"

"Anyways, I need help with opening this jar of cucumbers." Snugglemagne cleared his throat and looked to the side. "QUINTON! BRING THE JAR THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN!" Quinton zoomed from the kitchen and stood next to Snugglemagne with the jar in his hands.

Snugglemagne took the jar from Quinton. Badgerclops walked up to Snugglemagne and Mao Mao followed him. 

"Really?" Adorabat groaned. "I bet I could open that jar easily, even if I just have wings!" 

"Adorabat!" Badgerclops shrilled. "Don't be sassy to the King!" He turned away from Snugglemagne and whispered something in the bat's ear. "But I totally understand. He's pouting over a jar!" Adorabat stifled a giggle. 

Badgerclops turned back to Snugglemagne and took the jar from him. He twisted it open with little to no effort. His eye widened once he took a closer look at the cucumbers. An idea boiled and bubbled in his head.

Oh man. This was gonna be so good. Badgerclops wanted to squeal.

"Um, can I borrow a cucumber?" Badgerclops asked Snugglemagne.

"Of course! Not sure why you'd want a cucumber, but go ahead." Badgerclops took a cucumber out of the jar and squeezed the juices out of it into the jar. He gave the jar to Snugglemagne.

"Also, do you mind if I do something that'll be extremely hilarious? It'll make your day." Snugglemagne shrugged.

"Go on." Badgerclops pulled out the red dot and aimed it to Mao Mao's forehead. 

"MrooooOOOOW!" Mao Mao screeched as he smacked his paws into his forehead. Badgerclops tried not to laugh at Mao Mao's frustration. And now came the fun part. 

He whispered something to Adorabat and gave her the cucumber. She nodded and giggled to try and hide her laugh. She took the cucumber in her teeth and flew behind Mao Mao. Placing it down gently, she flew back to Badgerclops's shoulder.

Here comes the grand finale! Badgerclops moved the annoying dot away from Mao Mao's head and onto the cucumber behind him. Mao Mao jerked his head around, only to find the dot sitting on an unexpected, _unwelcome_ guest.

"MEOW!" Mao yelled as he leaped up higher than any normal cat would. He landed back on the ground on all four feet, surprisingly. He started running to the entrance of the castle. He glanced back at the cucumber, and WHAM! His head bashed into a wall next to the entrance.

Badgerclops, Adorabat, and Snugglemagne bursted into rambunctious laughter, gasping for air every now and then. Mao Mao backed up, stumbling with every step. His eyes looked like swirls. A smell snapped him back to normal. An evil smell. That belonged to an evil presence.

Mao Mao shook his head to get rid of some of the dizziness. He walked clumsily outside the castle, tracking the smell. Badgerclops, Adorabat, and Snugglemagne stopped laughing to see what Mao Mao was up to.

"Dude?" Badgerclops called as he picked up the cucumber and put it in his sash. He ran outside the castle while Adorabat proceeded to fly to the cat. Mao Mao was sniffing the air while one of his ears twitched like the ticking of a clock. Badgerclops knelt next to him. "What's wrong Mao?"

Fur on top of Mao stuck up as he growled quietly. Adorabat landed next to Mao Mao.

"Maybe he thinks there's danger?" Badgerclops stood up and opened his eye. He used it as a telescope to look around the Valley.

"The Sky Pirates might be here . . . OH! There they are!" Badgerclops spotted them on top of an apartment building. They seemed to be messing with some sort of shooter that had three giant holes in the front. "Wait a minute . . . aw shi—"

"No swearing Badgerclops!" Badgerclops jumped from Adorabat's comment and looked down at her. He chuckled nervously, putting a paw behind his neck.

"Sorry. Forgot about the no swearing policy." Adorabat narrowed her eyes at him and put her wings on her hips.

"You know how many times Pinky got arrested because of that." Badgerclops smirked. 

"I know I know. I honestly lost count. Anyways, I just saw Vicolean." Adorabat's pupils shrank. "I thought I overheard Orangusnake saying that he left for sometime!"

"Maybe the Sky Pirates told him about Mao Mao turning into a cat?" 

" _Oh._ Well you guys stay put! I gotta put the aerocycle somewhere safe!" Badgerclops said. Adorabat nodded, giving him a smile.

"Got it! I can't wait to kick some villain butt!" Badgerclops jumped on the aerocycle on the other side of the entrance of the castle and drove it to HQ. 

Mao Mao moved his slit eyes down to Adorabat. He wanted to wait for Badgerclops, but he couldn't just stand there while the deadly smell tickled his whiskers! There was no other choice.

He gingerly picked up Adorabat by the back of her head with his teeth, making her yelp. He threw her onto his back and started zooming away from the castle.

"Wha?! Mao Mao stop! We're suppose to wait for Badgerclops!" Adorabat screamed as she grabbed onto Mao's fur. A short time later the two made it to the area where the villains were. Vicolean was the first to notice and jumped down from the building.

"Of all the things that I've seen in my miserable life, I have never seen the legendary sheriff like this," he said, following with a cackle. He took a closer look at Mao Mao and raised an eyebrow. "Though this is quite strange. Why are some of his clothes off?"

Mao Mao meowed loudly, baring his teeth out. Vicolean's eyes widened. He laughed.

"So that's what that monster did to you!" He put a paw near his cheek, acting sarcastically cute. "Aww, how cute." Adorabat flew off of Mao Mao and went real close to Vicolean's face, frowning.

"Well guess what?! Mao Mao's gonna beat you up! Even as an actual cat!" she screamed. Vicolean hissed sharply at Adorabat, making her zoom immediately behind Mao Mao. Mao Mao hissed back since he thought Vicolean was trying to act intimidating. 

Vicolean started walking closer to Mao Mao. Mao Mao walked backwards with Adorabat doing the same. The more closer Vicolean got, the more furious Mao felt. 

"Stupid house cat," Vicolean mumbled. Mao Mao leaped at him hearing his dumb voice again, but Vicolean swiped his arm at Mao's stomach. Mao Mao got launched over Adorabat before hitting the ground, landing on his side.

"Mrow," he croaked. Adorabat gasped before throwing a smoke bomb at Vicolean's feet. 

He coughed multiple times, then yelled, "A-again?! Why do I always fall for this?!" While Vicolean was at bay, Adorabat ran to Mao Mao to see if he was alright.

"M-Mao? Can you still fight?" she asked with tears in her eyes. Mao Mao stood up on four paws slowly. He nuzzled his forehead against Adorabat's and meowed quietly. Adorabat smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes!"

Just as the smoke disappeared, a net went around Vicolean. It forced him to the ground.

"Oh come on!" he said. "Who put me in a—"

"Uh, hello! Did you like, forget about me?" Badgerclops asked as he descended with his umbrella above Adorabat and Mao Mao.

"BADGERCLOPS!" Adorabat exclaimed as she hugged his leg. Mao Mao nestled his other leg. He sighed in relief and knelt down to them.

"I told you guys to stay put. You could've gotten hurt." 

"Sorry . . . Mao Mao put me on his back and just ran! And I didn't wanna leave him alone, so yeah." Badgerclops nodded and looked up at the Sky Pirates still on the building. His eye widened once he saw them charging up the laser orbs from one of the holes. 

"Apologies Vicolean!" Orangusnake called. "We were still setting up the laser machine gun 3000!" Ramaraffe rolled her eyes.

"I still don't think dats a creative name, boss." Orangusnake glared at her.

"W-well you try to come up with a sophisticated name! Sheesh!" He turned back to the Sheriff's Department and abruptly shot the laser orbs at them. After each shot, the holes turned clockwise, allowing for rapid shooting. Badgerclops didn't have enough time to activate his beams, but something _totally_ unexpected happened.

Mao Mao jumped in front of Badgerclops, blocking the orbs with his katana in his mouth. He held it by the hilt as he blocked them, and landed. Afterwards, he dashed over to a bundle of tall trees next to the building and started leaping from branch to branch. When he made it to the top of the building, he slashed the laser shooter in half. 

During all of this, everyone, even the Sky Pirates, stayed still. Completely bewildered. Ramaraffe jerked her metal neck towards Mao Mao, but he jumped out of the way and threw his sword to her head. Shockingly, she was knocked out from that. 

Mao Mao landed on the floor and ran to grab his sword on the floor, but Orangusnake grabbed it.

"You're not that smart as a real cat, Mao Mao!" he said and smirked. Mao growled and activated his claws. He pounced at Orangusnake's face and swiped at it a few times. Orangusnake dropped Mao Mao's katana, screaming from the pain. Mao Mao got off Orangusnake's face and picked up his katana with his teeth.

Mao Mao kicked him in the groin with his back feet and slashed him over the trees. Boss Hosstrich and Ratarang went after him while carrying Ramaraffe. Mao Mao jumped off the building and landed in front of Vicolean. He looked a little scared.

"M-Mao Mao, would you do me a favor and spare me? I-I promise if you let me out of this net, I'll go back to the airship!" Mao stared him down with his illuminated eyes. He clenched his teeth between the hilt of his katana.

"Meow," he said, which meant "Begone." With that, Mao Mao's sword lit up as he swung it at Vicolean like he was playing golf. Extreme golf. Vicolean got flung to the Sky Pirates' airship.

Mao Mao sheathed his sword and turned back to Adorabat and Badgerclops. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open. 

"D-dude . . . how did you do that . . . as a cat?" Badgerclops said.

"Because he's Mao Mao!" Adorabat chirped as she flew around Mao. "Anything's possible with him!" Badgerclops rolled his eye and smiled.

"I guess so." Mao Mao yawned and walked up to Badgerclops, looking up at him with "Pick me up I'm about to fall asleep," eyes. Badgerclops picked him up without a care in the world. Mao Mao immediately fell into a deep sleep. "Alright. Fun time's over. Lets bring him to Camille and Honey to get him back to normal."

"Aww!" Adorabat said as she perched on Badgerclops's shoulder. "Fine." Before Badgerclops started walking to Camille and Honey's lab, he kissed Mao on the forehead. 

_You're the most awesome type of cute._


	10. A Bizarre Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bIzArRe portal appears in the dojo of HQ. It ends up bringing the sheriff and his two deputies to an odd alternate universe....

_**Mao Mao's POV:** _

I don't know how everything got so weird so fast. I was just in the dojo, practicing fighting moves and stuff. I was trying to get one step closer to being a legend, impressing my sisters and all that. 

As I was hitting a punching bag, a strange wind was picking up. There wasn't suppose to be any wind today! I know that! I held my feet to the ground, putting a hand near my face to block the breeze in my eyes. 

Unfortunately, my feet weren't firm enough to keep me on the ground. The wind got unbelievably strong, that it literally blew me into the HQ. I slid onto the wooden floor in front of the sofa. I rolled onto my stomach and crawled on the floor, the lower part of arms sticking to the wood as I trudged. 

Apparently Badgerclops and Adorabat were blown away as well, since they were against the wall next to the bathroom. I crawled over to them and asked, "Do y'all know what's happening?!"

"Nope!" Badgerclops squeaked. "But I'm pretty scared!"

"Is there a tornado?" Adorabat wondered. I shook my head.

"I don't think so Adorabat. Something odd is happening, and we need to get to the bottom of—" I paused as the whole room shined indigo. I turned my head back to see that the light was coming from the dojo. All of a sudden, the wind halted. 

"A strange anonymous light?" Badgerclops said, acting like he was shocked, but I know he was a coward and he didn't wanna investigate. "Dibs on not going to the dojo!" I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. See? Told ya.

"Badgerclops we're gonna check it out. Whether you want to or not," I instructed firmly as I stood up. Adorabat shot up and started flying to the dojo. My eyes widened as I watched her. "We have to go anyways to make sure Adorabat doesn't do anything gullible," I fretted.

"I guess you're right . . . c'mon!" Badgerclops picked me up if I were a bride or something. What the heck was he doing?! I blushed and glared at him. I pushed his chest to try and get out of his grip. He ignored that and started walking to the dojo.

"U-Unhand me Badgerclops! This is unacceptable behavior for a deputy like you!" I kept pushing his chest.

"Pfft, unacceptable? Mao, we're suppose to be a couple. A lot of things that I'm gonna do are 'unacceptable.'" I understood what he meant, huffed, and crossed my arms.

"Fine. I guess you're right for once." 

"Hehe, yeah." What caught my attention was seeing Adorabat stand in front of a huge, white portal. Badgerclops loosened his grip on me (probably from the awe that he felt from seeing the portal), so I jumped out of his grip and landed next to Adorabat. I looked at her and saw her small, beady eyes glistening at the white portal.

"D-Dad," Adorabat marveled, her head locked on the portal. I flinched from her calling me that. It's extremely hard not to cry when she calls me that special name.

"Yeah Adorabat?"

"Can we go in?" I shrugged. Normally I would say that it was dangerous to go to an unidentified place without looking it up, but we don't know where this portal leads us to. 

So as a result I responded with, "Sure." I nudged the little deputy back a little. "But I'm going in first." Adorabat nodded. I felt a heavy hold on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Badgerclops with a bead of sweat on his forehead and his teeth gritted.

"Dude, are we actually doing this?! Who knows what kind of things are on the other side of that portal?!" he noted. A smirk curled on my lips. I have an idea. I yanked Badgerclops down by his sash and kissed him deeply. I sensed Adorabat watching us, but I didn't worry.

I eventually ran out of breath and separated from Badgerclops's lips. His eye was open and wide, and his cheeks were flooded with blush. 

"Did that change your mind Badger?" I cooed as I placed a finger on his nose. Badgerclops nodded slowly. I let go of his sash and faced the portal. Time to see what adventure awaits us. "Let's go." 

I stepped through the portal and the white illuminated my eyes, but somehow I was able to keep them open. The moment my whole body went through, my vision went black. 

* * *

At first, the only thing I heard was my heart pounding. Then I heard a muffled voice. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a blurred figure above me, next to me. My whole body felt numb and paralyzed.

The cloudiness of my vision cleared a bit and I can identify who it is. It's Badgerclops, but he looked different. His _skin_ was a light brown, and did he have . . . brown hair?

"Mao Mao!" I heard Badgerclops say. "I think we're in a different universe or something! I literally have hands!" My vision went back to normal, and my eyes widened. Badgerclops . . . was a human! Does that mean I'm a human too?! What about Adorabat?! It seems like we were still in the dojo as well.

"Wait a minute," I said groggily as I quickly sat up. I immediately gasped as I saw legs. _My_ legs. I looked at my gloved paws and rolled them into fists multiple times. They actually felt like hands! I felt the top of my head with one hand. Hair went between my fingers. "This is amazing!"

"Amazing?! This is CRAZY Mao Mao!" Badgerclops stood up with wobbly legs. "I am NOT gonna get used to this." Badgerclops extended his hand to me. I slowly took it and felt his warm skin (not fur) touch my hand. 

He lifted me to my feet. My knees shook and I fell forward. Luckily, Badgerclops caught me by my arms, which were covered by black sleeves. I blushed as I saw his face two inches away from me. I felt his hot breath on my face as he talked. And no, I'm not trying to be creepy. AT ALL.

"Seems like _you_ are not gonna get used to it either," he said and smiled. I hummed a chuckle. Badgerclops helped me stand. I saw Adorabat on the floor next to us, and immediately knelt down to her. 

She had short, curly blue hair with her blue ears poking out of it. She was white (as in the sKiN cOlOr if ANYONE'S wondering), and she had blue overalls on with a big yellow heart in the middle of it. She also had shoes on that didn't have laces, but I guess those are considered shoes for some reason. Look, I obviously don't know a lot about shoes, okay?

There's no actual point to them in my opinion—it's just to look fancy. 

Adorabat opened her eyes and looked at me, then Badgerclops. 

"Waaaiiiiittt . . . did you guys grow hair?" I shook my head. 

"We're humans now, deputy." Adorabat's pupils dilated in shock.

"WHAAAA?! THAT'S SO COOL!" She immediately sat up, almost hitting my head. The first thing she did was look at her hands. "I got hands! HANDS!" I smiled at the bat's excitement. Her bubbly expression turned into a curious one as she felt her back. "I have my wings too?!" 

Badgerclops and I watched as she strained herself a little before lifting off the ground with her wings on her back.

"AWESOME! I have four arms!" she exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow.

"Adorabat, I'm not sure that's how it wor—"

"Dude, let her be happy," Badgerclops said. 

Thankfully, the portal was still in the same spot, in the dojo. We spent the rest of the time going through Pure Heart Valley, looking at everyone's human forms. I gotta say, Pinky didn't shave his arms or legs too much. It was pretty unsettling . . . .

I could also get an understanding as to what age range everyone was in - for example, Cluckins said he was 30, and he mostly looks 30. But I gotta say, wearing these shoes isn't the best thing in the world. Not to mention I have literal human feet with giant toes in the front!

_Disgusting_. I'd much rather have my normal paws than feet. I wanna keep my hands by the way. Makes me feel more manly than having my stupid squishy toe beans!

Anyways, enough about me. Let's focus on Badgerclops. I'm not entirely sure if he looks more handsome with hair or without it. He is rockin' that tank top and the light brown sweater, though. 

Adorabat flew everywhere, using her legs to land on top of roofs. She even told me she wanted to stay a human forever. Luckily, she changed her mind after she realized she can't scream as loud as she could as a bat.

Eventually, we decided to go back to that portal. Badgerclops said it should take us back home because he claims he's an expert at portals. He doesn't say any smart explanation or whatever.

But that's alright. And this is gonna sound WAY too mushy, but he's cute when he's sure about things. Anyways, we went inside the portal, and I was praying I'd get my normal feet back.

* * * 

Fortunately, we made it back to our real universe. I immediately knew because I was 3 and a half feet tall. And I had all my paws (including the ones that I keep hidden at ALL TIMES!). 

"That was a nice adventure, but I'm ready to go to bed," Badgerclops said groggily. I cleared my throat and pointed at the portal, which was still there. "Oh yeah. That. I'm not entirely sure what we're gonna do with that." I smirked. 

"Well I'm sorry. I thought you were an expert at portals math boy," I commented. Badgerclops rolled his eye and smirked right back at me.

"I am a _total_ expert because I know that Camille and Honey would know how to solve this. I saw a potion that they had labeled 'Alternate Universe Shut Down.'" My eyes widened. 

"Huh. That's oddly convenient. How would they know there's alternate universes anyways?"

"Who knows? Maybe they've been in one before." I shrugged. I started walking back inside 

"Anywho, I'm gonna go to their lab and ask them for that potion. Hopefully we won't have to deal with this ever again."

"Yeah!" Adorabat exclaimed. "It was fun, but I don't know how I would LIVE without my loud screaming!" Badgerclops and I laugh. I start heading inside the house to the aerocycle, when Badgerclops grabbed my arm and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed.

"Don't take too long, okay? Sometimes I feel pretty lonely when I sleep," he said, smiling. I chuckled.

"Okay Clops."


	11. Again?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having a heated and a bit of a sad argument with Badgerclops, Mao Mao takes a walk. That might have been the worst time to go walk, though....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost like what happened to Badgerclops, Mao Mao gets controlled by a collar from a series of events. It's not a complete copy of that one-shot with Badgerclops, though.
> 
> Oh and keep in mind half of these one-shots are requests from Wattpad. This is a request.

For a few days now, nothing's been happening. No monsters, no Sky Pirates. A supposedly peaceful day. But for Mao Mao . . . no sirree.

Despite having fun with Adorabat and Badgerclops for those days, he still felt bored afterwards. He would train, meditate, and try to watch the corny TV shows that don't stop airing. Training made him filled with adrenaline, and meditating calms the angers that burrow deep inside of him. Unfortunately, none of those options seemed to interest him.

Mao Mao decided to check on Badgerclops. He said he was gonna be in the garage messing with something. For once Mao Mao was curious.

He slid down the metal pole. "Hey Badgerclops. Just wanted to see what you were . . . doing . . . . "

Mao paused once he saw Badgerclops with something he shouldn't have. He was sitting at a wooden desk in a large circular chair with wheels at the bottom. He was doing something to that awful metallic crimson collar that Mao Mao THOUGHT he told him to get rid of! There was a compartment in the collar, and Badgerclops was tinkering with an electric box.

Badgerclops spun his chair around to look at Mao Mao.

"Sup dude. Don't mind me. I'm just trying to see if I could make this collar useful." He held it up to show Mao Mao. The sheer anxiousness Mao felt when he saw the collar in full view was suffocating him, ripping him to microscopic pieces. He scowls and clenches his hands into fists.

"Badgerclops. I thought I told you to throw that in a lake!" he said. Badgerclops opened his eye and rolled it. He looked so nonchalant.

"And let someone else find it and doom their society?" He scoffed. "Heck no. Besides, maybe once I program it to control multiple people at once, we can beat the Sky Pirates in a snap."

"B-But that would be dumb! There's no fun in that! It's just pure laziness!" Badgerclops's grip on the collar tightens.

"Are calling me lazy again? This is an efficient way to beat our enemies!"

"It's also a way to get yourself mind controlled! Again!" Mao mentioned.

"That was one time dude! And there's no way the Sky Pirates will get their hands on this collar." Mao Mao walked closer to Badgerclops and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you ABSOLUTELY sure about that?"

"Ugh, yes!" Mao stuck out his hand.

"Give me the collar. We can't have this dangerous object in HQ!" Badgerclops jerked his hands away, holding the collar protectively.

"No! It'll be helpful!" Mao Mao dashed onto Badgerclops's lap, trying to grab the collar away from him.

"No it won't! Just give it to me!" Badgerclops held the collar in his robotic arm, extending it to the ceiling. Mao Mao got in a squatting position so he could leap to the top of his arm, but the chair couldn't handle the weight and tipped backwards. Mao fell on top of Badgerclops.

He blushed, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest as he stared into Badgerclops's now opened eye. But the feeling of anger took over.

"Mao Mao, stop trying!" Badgerclops said. "I will genuinely throw you across this room if you don't—"

"I can't let you get hurt!" Badgerclops gasped a little. Mao Mao blushed deeper and felt his lip quiver. He got off of Badgerclops and looked away from him. He couldn't bare to think the Sky Pirates slipping that collar on his co-hero again. He didn't wanna choose to hurt him like last time.

Badgerclops stood up slowly and placed the collar on the desk.

"Mao . . . I-I—"

"Go ahead. Keep it if you want. But I can't hurt you again." Before Badgerclops could have a word, Mao climbed up the stairs. Badgerclops stayed silent, and lifted the fallen chair upright. He should've just gave the collar to Mao Mao! WHY did he make it into a whole thing? Badgerclops slumped into the chair and stared at the collar for awhile.

Adorabat noticed Mao Mao walking near the sliding doors as she was watching TV.

"Where are you going Mao Mao?" she asked in her innocent voice. Mao Mao turned to the child, hiding his sadness the best he could.

"Out. See ya kid." Adorabat waved with a smile.

The thought stayed in Mao Mao's head as he walked down the sidewalk of the village. Seeing the strong, tough badger get hurt by some weak, puny cat felt wrong. And not just because of the description used to describe their strength. It's because of the person that hurt the badger.

Mao would die for his friends—not _kill_ them. Even if he had to. Badgerclops has been his best friend for years. Now he's his boyfriend. And Mao Mao wouldn't dare let anyone, including himself, hurt him. Just think about it like oil not wanting anyone to harm water, also not itself.

_I hope I didn't make Badgerclops angry for leav—_

He was so lost in thought that his cat senses didn't pick up a speedy figure grabbing the back of the neck part of his cape. The next thing he knew, he was quickly dragged into an alley. And the NEXT thing he knew, he felt a dull pain in the side of his shoulder. The figure had a strong hold on Mao Mao's waist.

Fortunately, he managed to get out of it thanks to his awesome muscles. He turned around and took out his sword. He realized he was facing Vicolean from a distance, who had a syringe held in his paw.

"What did you put in me?!" Mao Mao asked. Vicolean grinned.

"Just a little tranquilizer. Nothing more." Mao Mao's eyes widened, but he snickered afterwards.

"No problem. I'll beat you before the effects set in." Though just as he said that, he began to feel dizzy. Vicolean seemed to notice the sheriff swaying and chuckled.

"Do you have any idea how fast the effects set in?" Vicolean put the syringe in a pocket on the side of his pants. "Not as fast as me, but fast enough." Mao Mao growled and put his hand against a wall to regain balance.

"I can see you're turning into me." Vicolean's ears perked up at that. He rolled his eyes.

"I will never be like you, _Mao Mao,_ "Vicolean stated. Mao started feeling exhausted, and his legs shook. He keeps his hand on the wall while he points his shaky katana at Vicolean.

"Let's go. Right . . . now," Mao Mao mumbled. His fingers felt weak and his sword dropped to the floor with a clang. Vicolean didn't move. He just crossed his arms.

"You must be getting old already. You can't even keep your sword in your hand!" Mao Mao's eye twitched. This cat's tastes for jokes was enough to rot your brain.

"S-shut up!" Mao's breathing slowed as if he were asleep. His eyelids started closing. "You must think you have the advantage here, but trust me. I . . . I will strike . . . back." His legs could hold him no more, and he fell on his side with a grunt. Vicolean walked up to the vulnerable hero, grabbed his katana, and knelt down to him.

"Sleepy night night, Mao Mao." Mao Mao's eyes fluttered shut, and he felt himself getting picked up and put over a shoulder. He went unconscious.

* * *

Mao Mao's eyes snapped open halfway. His vision was blurry, and he felt so out of it. What was happening? The numb feeling he felt disappeared, and something thin and cold was on his neck. It nearly choked him. Mao Mao was lying against a wall, his head facing the floor.

He tried speaking, but his words came out jumbled and inaudible. Drool dribbled from the corner of his mouth. That tranquilizer messed up a part of his nervous system, but only temporarily. He could still think properly.

Mao Mao's hearing bounced back. He could hear Orangusnake talking.

"Ah, you're awake. I can't wait to show you what I have in store!" He snickered. Mao Mao's eyes dilated in and out multiple times, as if his emotions couldn't register. It made his blurry vision double.

"Wha . . . wha're ya . . . gonna do ta meeee . . . . " Mao Mao muttered, trying to pick his head up. He had no strength what so ever.

"We're gonna make sure that you call me Lord Orangusnake." Mao's vision became clear and he was able to pick up his head a bit. He could see the Sky Pirates, including Vicolean, facing him.

"What do you mean . . . by that?" Orangusnake chuckled a bit.

"You'll find out soon enough. Ratarang! Turn it up a little!"

"Ya got it boss!" Ratarang answered.

_T_ _urn it up a little? What the heck does that even—_

Mao Mao's thoughts were interrupted by an electric shock he felt in his neck. It only lasted for a second, but it was painful. Next, he felt like he was having a severe migraine. Then came a feeling that was hard to describe, but in simple terms, his consciousness was slipping into another place.

Mao Mao sucked in his breath, trying his best to endure the migraine. All of a sudden, the idea came to him. He remembers when Badgerclops lost control because of that collar. OF COURSE! It was so obvious! Mao was being . . . controlled . . . and . . . oh no.

He struggled to keep his consciousness with him. He said each word slowly. "N-No...! I'm not letting you do this!" Mao Mao was able to lift his hands to the thin collar around his neck and wraps his fingers around it. Only when he did that, an even more painful shock went through his body. He yelped and instinctively removes his hands from the collar.

Boss Hosstrich explained, "That there shock you just felt is what happens when someone tries to take that collar off."

"Yo boss!" Ratarang said to Orangusnake. "Should I crank the powa up?"

"Yes! Besides the faster we get this over with, the more time we have for lunch."

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" Ratarang turned a lever on the side of a remote he was holding all the way down. Mao Mao gasped in pain and lets go of his consciousness. Therefore, he was passed out for a few seconds. Until he opened his fresh, frosty cold eyes.

The first person he recognized was Orangusnake. Orangusnake programmed the collar so that anyone who wore it would only listen to him.

Mao Mao stood up as if he got all his strength back. His eyes were half open, showing no emotion whatsoever.

"Hello, Lord Orangusnake. Whatever you ask me to do, I shall do it for you," Mao stated in a monotone voice. Orangusnake cackled.

"Okay, Mao Mao. I just need you to take out two certain deputies."

* * *

By now, Badgerclops was sitting on the sofa with Adorabat, watching her favorite show with her. His mind was going elsewhere. He thought about that argument he had with Mao Mao. That awkward moment when Mao fell on top of him trying to get the collar. And Badgerclops felt like all of that was his fault.

Huh. Mao Mao isn't back. It's been a long time. Perhaps it would be best to check if he was coming back?

Badgerclops pushed himself off the sofa and went outside. On perfect timing, he saw Mao Mao coming up on that weird escalator thing.

"Hey Mao Mao! Look dude, I—" He paused once he noticed those light blue eyes. Eye color contacts? Nah, Mao loves his eyes as much as he loves himself. But then why, or how did his eyes turn blue? Badgerclops instinctively backed up. "Uhhh dude? What's with your eyes?"

"I do not answer questions from the likes of you," Mao Mao said. Oh geez, his voice stayed at one tone. What was happening to him?

"Are you feeling okay? 'Cause if you're not, I could bring you to a doc—" Badgerclops stopped when he felt a painful fist come to his cheek. He rubs it. "Mao, what the heck?! Why would you . . . do that . . . . " He spent those pauses realizing that his boyfriend was manipulated. Controlled.

By that no good snake orangutan thing.

"Must I repeat what I said?" Mao Mao said, changing his tone a bit. Badgerclops put a shield around himself, knowing that Mao Mao could easily pin him or do some crazy stunt on him.

"I'm gonna get you back, buddy," Badgerclops whispered. Mao Mao charged at him, his katana held back as he was going to pierce Badgerclops's shield. Fortunately, once his katana made contact, it bounced against the shield with so much force that it sent Mao Mao back several feet.

Badgerclops used that advantage to put away his shield and run into HQ. He slid the doors shut. Adorabat was still on the sofa. She turned off the TV and looked at the panicked badger.

"What's going on?" Adorabat asked. Badgerclops took Adorabat off the sofa and placed her on the floor. Silently apologizing to Sofia, he pushes her against the doors. He started to temporarily mend the vulnerability of them with the heaviest items he could find.

"Two words. Controlled. Mao Mao," Badgerclops stated. Adorabat flys up to Badgerclops's height.

"More info, please." Badgerclops groans and throws the kitchen table against the doors along with the other items.

"THESKYPIRATESCAPTUREDMAOMAOANDHEPROBABLYHASACOLLARONANDWEGOTTASAVEHIMBEFORE—"

"BADGERCLOPS!" Adorabat interrupted. "Mao Mao always tells me to not babble! Speak clearly!"

 **Thud. Thud.** The large pile of furniture and weapons shook. Some of the smaller items tumbled off the pile.

"Sorry, I wanted to get it out quick in case Mao Mao breaks through the doors. The Sky Pirates got a hold on Mao Mao's mind with another collar." Adorabat gasps.

"Oh no, not again! Let's go save Dad!" Adorabat started to fly to the closed window near the front doors. She clearly didn't care about the stack of furniture that was pushed against them. She just wanted to save her hero pronto!

Sadly but also fortunately, Badgerclops pulled the small deputy away from the window with his robo arm. He gently placed her on his furry shoulder. Adorabat makes a droopy and heavy frown.

"Hey, what was that for? We need to save Mao Mao!" she said. Badgerclops eye rolls.

"You didn't listen to anything I said, did you? You go out there, and chances are the cat's gonna pounce at you."

 **BANG!** The maniac broke through.Every sound happened at once. Doors being broken, furniture and items crashing forward and to the sides, Adorabat shrieking, her wings flapping, and Badgerclops's body thumping against the floor as the feral cat tackled him.

Adorabat looked down at Badgerclops and the back of Mao Mao. Mao Mao's cape had several splotches—dirty faded ones. He was panting heavily, his back rising and lowering.

"I must . . . take you two out!" Mao Mao yelled. His voice was no longer monotone - it was the normal, throat flaring tone that he used 70 percent of the time. Those light blue eyes had a ferocious glow that made Mao Mao's slit pupils stand out like soap at a garbage dump.

He unsheathed his golden Geraldine and raised it above his head to pierce Badgerclops in the heart. Right as he was about to lower her, Adorabat grabbed the katana with her legs and tried to keep Mao from hurting the badger. While Mao Mao was distracted, Badgerclops kicked him in the stomach and that knocked him back.

Badgerclops rolls and stands up.

"Please remember us man! You and I, we went through so much together! You and Adorabat, you adopted her and she looks up to you!" Mao Mao stood up while doubled over, holding his stomach with one hand and holding his sword with the other.

"Like I'll believe that. I was given an order to take you guys down, and I will succeed!" Mao Mao regained his posture, then his ears twitched for a split second before he slashed behind him and turned halfway around. Luckily Adorabat zipped upwards before he could pop her head off. The quick ear twitching helped her out.

Badgerclops extended his robotic arm around Mao Mao, yanking his katana from his grip. He threw it out the entrance, all the way to the village.

"Whatever," Mao Mao said, "I don't need Geraldine anyway!" He raised his fists, but Badgerclops engulfs them in his paws and kisses Mao Mao's lips. During the kiss, Mao's eyes were a widened glare. A faint blush was shown on his furry cheeks. He pulls back and slaps his hands against his chest. "Wh . . . What does this heart pounding mean? Why did I . . . enjoy that?" Badgerclops giggles a little and smirks.

"Because you love me. And I love you." Mao Mao curls the hands on his chest into fists, dropping them to his sides.

"I don't believe that."

"Well you should since you liked it." He blushes again.

"I did not!" Adorabat hugs Mao Mao's right arm and nuzzles it.

"I love you Mao Mao! You love me!" she said. Mao Mao shakes his arm in an attempt to get the child off. His eye twitched.

"You two are my enemies! I show no love for you!" Adorabat's eyes glisten.

"No! The real Mao Mao doesn't work for those dumb pirates! You're the sheriff, the soon-to-be-legendary hero!" Badgerclops joins the hug.

"Dude, Adorabat's right. You risk your odd life for Pure Heart Valley! We do too; actually you're alone on that one," he quickly mumbled in the last sentence. Adorabat nodded in agreement. "Just . . . remember who you are." Mao Mao's eyes widen. His deputies hug him tighter.

Starting from outside to inside, his eyes turned from light icy blue to the regular neon green. The collar breaks in two and drops to the floor.

"Guys...?" Mao Mao speaks in a hushed tone. Badgerclops and Adorabat release him from the hug and smile, their lips quivering.

"MAO MAO!" they shouted. Suddenly Mao Mao's eyes roll, his eyelids flutter, and he holds the side of his head which was facing downwards. He closes his eyes.

"You okay?" Badgerclops asked. Mao Mao takes his hand off his head.

"Yeah," he answered. "I remember everything that happened." He squeezes his eyelids. "Ugh, curse that Vicolean! And I . . . hurt you?" Mao opens his eyes, furrowing his brow. Badgerclops put two claws under the cat's chin and raised it to meet eye contact. Mao Mao looks at Adorabat, who was frowning. "I tried to hurt you as well, didn't I?" Tears well up in his eyes.

Adorabat nuzzles his cheek.

"It's okay, Mao Mao. It wasn't your fault." She goes on his shoulder and tears up too. "Maybe if I went with you outside, the Sky Pirates wouldn't have messed with you. It's my fault!" Mao Mao rubbed the back of her head.

"Don't say that, lil' deputy." Badgerclops placed a paw on Mao's other shoulder. A tear formed in the corner of his eye.

"Honestly," Badgerclops said with a voice crack, "I take the blame as well. I started that argument and I made you go out to the village."

"Wait, what argument?" Adorabat asked, wiping her tears.

"That's not important!" Badgerclops replied without looking at her. "We're just really _really_ sorry." Mao Mao sniffles and pats the badger's paw that's on his shoulder.

"M-Me too." Adorabat and Badgerclops hug him tightly. He begrudgingly surrenders in the hug.

They all break the hug and Mao Mao wipes his tears saying, "Alright alright, enough with the waterworks. How about we go give the pirates what they deserve?" He smirks. Adorabat perched on his head, making his ears tilt down.

"YEAH! LET'S GIVE 'EM A BEATING!" she yelled.

Badgerclops said, "Yup, just gimme a sec." He picks up the collar pieces and chucks them in the furnace. Mao Mao's eyes widened.

"Hold on, my sheath feels empty." He narrowed his eyes at his co-hero. "Badgercloooops . . . where's my sweet Geraldine?" Badgerclops chuckled nervously and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Maybe that would change his mood. "I'm dead serious WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Man, do you care about that sword more than me?"

"I care about both of you equally!" Badgerclops sighed.

"I may have thrown her towards the village while you were controlled." Mao Mao gasped sharply.

"WHY YOU—OKAY LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!" Mao Mao grabbed Badgerclops's paw and started running to the aerocycle with Adorabat on his head.

"Dude slow down! My legs can't stretch that long!" 


End file.
